movies are dead because the trough pigs in suits only comission remakes and reboots. More Inceptions and less reboots of a 7 year old Spiderman please.
@JoeyASRV I thought Inception was overrated too... but at least it was original. All these nerds and idiots looking forward to the Spiderman reboot were hes back at school. We've seen all that. Ugh.
I respect this guy as a writer, but sorry Synecdoche New York was just pretentious crap, terrible film, only good thing was the music and acting. Maybe if you only watch hollywood films then movies are "dead" there's plenty of great directors around like wong kar wai and park chan wook
I agree. It suggested to me that Kaufman has benefitted from the interpretations and expectations of the directors he's worked with. I didn't get the impression that he couldn't direct (hence the quality acting), but rather that his scripts benefit from having someone else to pull them back to earth.
And yes, there are plenty of directors out there who are making great works. I wonder what Duncan Jones would do with a Kaufman script?
@AJedProduction You are that kind of "weird" people who only likes asian directors, right?
Oh, Oldboy, it had to be so difficult to write... just put a good idea at the first 5 minutes, and then just put some random revenge and a weird (not shocking) ending and 'voila', for a lot of people, that's an excellent movie.
I just described the most part of asian movies.
Think in Kill Bill which is based on asian movies and read again what I wrote.
@GuilleGon How is it weird for an Asian guy to like Asian directors? But no I don't only like Asian directors, I'm a big fan of Almodovar, Danny Boyle for example. You have your opinion on Oldboy, but at least it succeeds in telling a great story, unlike this mess. Kill Bill is a parody of B-Grade low budget over the top martial arts movies. You know nothing about asian cinema mate. Your probably one of those people that stop watching a movie as soon as you see subtitles.
you must be an active and engaged viewer when watching synecdoche. its not like transformers where you can sit on your ass and just go "oooh" and "ahhhh" like a caveman or someshit. and its not incomprehensible, its called "existentialism", duh. respect Kaufman for treating this film like real art. the fact that there is such a divide in criticism means that it was a successful film. it provokes thought and is a beautiful piece. if you still can't understand it, watch it in 10, 20 years.
@stevenas135 I love that you talk about existentialism, in the same sentence as the words "like a caveman or someshit" whoever said it is incomprehensible is in some way correct because the movie is so open to interpretation and you can derive whatever you like from it, in terms of existentialism it is only the character's arc that really touches on that, instead of the whole film. As for the last part no one person can "understand" the film as there is so many different outlooks...
the problem is, 90% of people who see senecdoche will not get it. at all. you need to watch it atleast twice before you even have a frame from which to view it.
@nubtuberable Charlie Kaufman himself said that whatever reaction an audience member has to Synecdoche, is the right reaction, because it's their own. So I don't see how anyone could not "get it"... I think it's kind of ironic that a fan of his wouldn't extend the same to other people...but then again I guess even that's an okay reaction (given that it's what you really feel)
I love all of his other films but for someone who is in constant touch with reality, I tend pass on films like this. If I want to be depressed, I watch my own life.
@InstantKarmaAndroid I would reply but an asteroid is heading towards earth and i have to rendevous with a rag-tag group of astronauts oil drillers to help blow it to pieces.
Hollywood movies use the same formula, they just cut out pieces and paste in new ones to make it seem "BRAND NEW AND AWESOME." I always think of that Family Guy episode where Stephen King comes up with his next book about a "lamp monster." Yes, that would be how Hollywood movies are these days.
Wow. This man is a genius and I don't use that word lightly. So many people seem to be offended by being asked to consider the really 'big' concepts like mortality and death. It's pathetic. Think of all the hours and weeks you've wasted watching formulaic Hollywood movies whose only goal is to get you to pay 10 quid on opening weekend, sit down and shut up and don't think. This movie is the most magnificent 'up yours' to the passive movie-watching experience.
Also, I hope this film get's the recognition it deserves some day. It's another gem that go's misunderstood by a non understanding and largely unappreciative, cynical, obsurde and and disproportionately idiotic society. Why are comparisons to Tarantino or Kevin Smith even being posted? Simply because they are successful writer/directors? Their bodies of work are not even remotely similar. QT and KS made a few fun flicks, but kaufman owns the realm of the humane condition. Suck on that.
pseudo-intellectual crap? This is obviously a term used defensively by those who are seemingly unintelligent. Look, If you do not possess any sort of real intellect yourself, than I am baffled by the idea that you have any understanding of what exactly makes something authentically so, which is essential to knowing it's opposite. Kaufman's work strives at something more elusive and ambitious than pure entertainment. I am not shocked that some didn't get it, or were bored.
@collinsrussell1 Dude, that "i'm on a whole different level than you disgraceful mortals" argument is why these people are telling you to shut up. You know, people generally "get it", they just don't make a big deal of it cause they don't need to. Now, Kaufman is a great writer, but he's been doing the same stuff for years and people aren't willing to love him as much as you do. Ok?
pseudo-intellectual crap? This is obviously a term used defensively by those who are seemingly unintelligent. Look, If you do not possess any sort of real intellect yourself, than I am baffled by the idea that you have any understanding of what exactly makes something authentically so, which is essential to knowing it's opposite. Kaufman's work strives at something more elusive and ambitious than pure entertainment. I am not shocked that some didn't get it, or were bored.
pseudo-intellectual crap? This is obviously a term used defensively by those who are seemingly unintelligent. Look, If you do not possess any sort of real intellect yourself, than I am baffled by the idea that you have any understanding of what exactly makes something authentically so, which is essential to knowing it's opposite. Kaufman's work strives at something more elusive and ambitious than pure entertainment. I am not shocked that some didn't get it, or were bored.
I'm sure the film was good, I just found it incredibly dull. I never found myself particularly caring about any of the characters to be honest. I think I understood the film, but at no point did I particularly enjoy it, I really felt every minute pass.
i tried to watch it 4 times, each time not being able to get past the first 10 minutes, and 3 out of those 4 times, i didn't make it the full 10. absolutely tedious. a bunch of artsy long island faggots acting like faggots.
Am I the only one who's favorite Kaufman film is, in fact, "Being John Malkovich"? Yes, "Adaptation": Excellent. "Eternal Sunshine": Brilliant. "Synecdoche, New York": Probably the best movie he'll ever make. But "Being John Malkovich": Maybe my all time favorite movie :P
his movies are masterpieces. i always experience something new when i watch eternal sunshine. my favourite film ever. i really look up to this guy. he should write a book.
Seeing Kaufman's mannerisms and the way actually speaks, I am dumbfounded at the accuracy of Nicolas Cage's portrayal of him in "adaptation." It is uncanny. I have a new respect for Cage.
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eternal sunshine is garbage..kaufman is over rated..real pseudo intellectual clap trap..he sucks
charlie go read the screenplays for the raging bull, the shawshank redemption, the insider, the godfather and learn something about characters and storytelling...
charlie kaufman blows...God bles him he's conned idiots into thinking he's brilliant...
A lot of people are hating on you here, so I'm going to give you a little break.
The movies you mentioned are very good movies but in a different way than something like "Synecdoche" is. When it comes to story-telling, those films tend to follow the same basic formula, and since those films are so good, we tend to judge what is good based on the formula, rather than other things in the film. "Eternal Sunshine" was like a love story film, save that it was basically in reverse, e.g. new formula.
I loved this movie, have to see it again, I've liked the movies he's written only that I've seen, missed a couple i think, but not so much as this one. He must have had a small team of technical directors helping him on this one though.
Kaufman isn't exactly my taste but I understand that he is very good. Saying that "The Insider" was a better written film than "Being John Malkovich" is just false by the face of the statement. Kaufman is a great writer, I mean he's no Quentin Tarantino but he is quite good. I'd rank him somewhere around Diablo Cody and Kevin Smith. I agree that he isn't our generations Paul Schrader if that makes you feel any better.
I own all of those films you named besides "The Insider" on special edition DVD. Those are hardly under cuts of cinema. Try watching fucking Francois Truffaut, Bernardo Bertolucci, or any fucking Ingmar Bergman film, than with a little education about what you're saying come back and talk to me. Your knowledge of film is second to an infants. From where I'm standing your an ape. Kevin Smith is actually good, go watch Chasing Amy motherfucker.
kevin smith is a zero...it shows how ignorant you are...kevin smith?
why am i even talking to a buffoon like you..oh yes kevin smith's tour-de-force "COP OUT" starring tracy morgan and bruce willis...A MASTER WORK IN MOVIE MAKING...
gee what film school did you go to mcnugget? limp noodle community college? i bet
@StraightTwoDVD First of all you don't even know what the fuck you're talking about because Cop Out wasn't even written by Kevin Smith dumb shit. Watch Chasing Amy, it's equally as good as Eternal Sunshine, if not better. Francis Ford Coppola directed Jack. So by your standard Coppola is a hack? Your logic is fucking retarded. Get an education on cinema before you open your stupid fuckin' mouth. Watch a fucking Krzysztof Kieslowski film and than come and talk idiot.
@StraightTwoDVD Here's a list of directors for you to watch in order for you to understand what you're fucking talking about: Bernardo Bertolucci, Jean-Pierre Melville, Fredrico Fellini, Douglas Sirk, François Truffaut, Dario Argento, Cheh Chang, Sujien Suzuki, Jules Dassin, Ingmar Bergman, Sam Peckinpah, Howard Hawks, Sam Fuller, Michelangelo Antonioni, Jean-Luc Godard, Gillo Pontecorvo, Costa-Gravras', Michael Powell, Luchino Visconti, F.W. Murnau, Gasper Noe, John Cassavetes, Preston Sturges
@StraightTwoDVD But no I'm clearly ignorant. Go back to fucking Hollywood video and rent fucking Eternal Sunshine again so you can cum in your pants and pretend you know something about cinema. Shut the fuck up.
you're a little bitch that can't fucking spell, let alone write anything that gets produced into a major motion picture so you have no place to critique anything except what comes out of your ass you stupid fucking "douch" bag.
no ...he is over rated...big time....he rips off others ideas...
and he's been reduced to making crap like "cop out"..
puhlease...kevin smith is no brilliant artist...next you'll be tellling me brett ratner's a genius...charlie kaufmans eternal sunshine sucked..a bore...drivel...a lousy film
Kaufman is light years ahead of Diablo Cody and Kevin Smith. You CAN'T be serious. I won't press the issue. But I will encourage you to watch Kaufmans films a few times through repeatedly. There is apparently a lot there that you're not seeing.
Great art requires great effort, not only to create, but also to experience.
Also if Tarantino had to write something as intellectually compelling as Synecdoche or Adaptation, he wouldn't have a clue where to start.
I feel with you because you're a retard. But - for all our sakes - shut the fuck up and go watch some Avatar or Shawshank Redemption. You will never experience real art. Perhabs in your next life, looser.
real art? hahaha..charlie kaufman sucks...pseudo intellectual clap trap...the guys a master con artist...like that fruit versace who gets yentas to pay 400 bucks for a pair of ugly jeans....charlie knows he sucks and looks in the mirror sees his ugly self and says thank God for losers who like me
@Vesters1 Okay, we'll give you Shawshank for sure, but not Avatar. Out of all of the films deemed "artistic", Avatar wouldn't be much of a first choice.
Kaufman is incredible in that he is over 50 years old, yet has managed to keep such a youthful and open perspective on life. I feel that most of us struggle or give up, or forget about that and become lost in our own certainty, our own assurance that we have learnt meaningful things, or that we have progressed from a few years previously, when in fact it is a lie, and we will never be any closer to the truth than we were at any past moment in our life.
@BOB2112420 The amazing thing is that Charlie can understand all of these complex feelings and emotions... he makes us all feel equal, like we all feel the same way about life and death. The way he made Synecdoche just made me question everything. It's like the movie looked into my brain.
In fact, you are contradicting yourself in an interesting way. What you said is precisely what IS learned. Progress concerning pragmatic means is also achieved, but an ultimate goal remains elusive.
Kaufman explains: "It’s dealing with real world fears and mortality and illness and loneliness and isolation and all those things that are the real things that people are scared of. Meaning, lack of meaning."
That's eventually what we have to come to grips with.
I own this movie. It's a mindfuck if there ever was one. Not a "Last Year in Marienbad" mindfuck, but the kind of mindfuck that really makes you think what you watched, and taunts you to watch it again to make sure you understood what you saw.
Great movie, but one that I will never watch again, because I agree with you, it was truly a "mindfuck."
I felt like I had a psychotic break after I watched it. Truly. Never has a work of art so warped my sense of reality, of mental and emotional stability. Which speaks volumes about Charlie Kaufman's work. I really believe he is a genius, the best, most innovative screenwriter working today.
I love Kaufman and the whole " Broadway Danny Rose" feel. Most of us are more than slightly neurotic...the origin of our personality. When Kaufman speaks, I feel he is "talking truth" about all of "us"...and this movie...it is life, walking the unknown path to death. Loved it!!!
jewish psychosis? So he's a jew first and a human second is he? I don't understand the justification in criticizing someone elses perception of reality when it's all quite subjective 'jew or no jew'. What right do you have? Are you arrogant enough to claim the way you see the world is the ultimate view; your better than everyone else around you are you? I have to apologise then because obviously your a god and I'm just a mere mortal. You cunt.
I like good characters that follow a natural progression. I found Hoffman's character in Synecdoche interesting, but then Kaufman played with time/space/reality and lost me. The movie centered around a dying theatre director, then became detached fantasy. I understand why some people would like Synecdoche, but it's not my cup of tea!
The thing I like that he says here is about rewatching his films. I always liked Adaptation. But there was so much going on. I read The Orchid thief and went back to Adaptation. I love how many ideas Kaufman incorporates into his stories for people, and leaves for you to discover, arrive at, or explore as a completely foreign concept an idea that having been written for you is now an idea that you are aware of having. And one you have never till now had before.
Yes, i agree. Kaufman is an indulgent writer. Not necessarily a bad thing, obviously he has a strong sense of self when writing and doesn't sell out his ideas.
What he says about structure there, perfect. Roughly all films each year end up with some huge plot failure in the last quarter of the film, a wonderful resurrection, such narrative flows are getting tiring. Irony is sadly just becoming predictable. "Oh, that was the girl from the beginning!" as the big twist, it has to be broken while still keeping the audience engaged. Indulgent writers like Kaufman are the last hope for cinema.
@MoonlinerPictures Teen audience, the true rulers of Hollywood, don't want the change. They want everything by the formula. They interpret any deviation from the formula as a sign of bad writing. Or as they say, that the film sucks. They literally want the same shit in a new and shiny package. The perfect consumers. Luckily there are plenty of films being made outside of Hollywood to be watched and enjoyed.
Kaufman should be horsewhipped for inflicting that dreary nonsense on the public. saw it last night and couldn`t believe how depressing, long and smug it was. that guy is a sham a cod intellectual. waste of 20 million dollars
Techniqically, were already dead as humans; but, the flip side were just on a time clock; its just what you do while your living determines the imgaination for others. Anyone else have any thoughts on this subject?
I dunno. I write stories and I just want to produce the clearest account of myself through the characters I create. In that sense, my stories are purely self portraits.
Thats everybody. I write fiction. But in some way or form i write my attitudes or personalities of people i have met. I can be talking about a cyborg, but in reality i am talking about how much of a hard-ass my dad was with me when i was a kid.
Evidently, you paint with much broader strokes than me. I don't draw from the people I have encountered in my life. I only ever write about my own pain and alienation. I really don't mean that to sound grim. It really isn't. Sure, my stories are as black as hell - but they're shot through with humour.
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But you can create timeless films without them being abstract, or outside of the norm. I admire what Charlie does, as I really enjoy films you have to go back to multiple times to better understand the experience with new found information from the last watch. But sometimes, I feel he's simply trying to be different. And in the words of Robert Mckee - "difference for the sake of difference is as empty as slavishly following commercial imperatives."
i understand what he means but i don't thin movies are dead, i think people want movies to be dead. that's why movies like this or "no country for old men" are hit with such opposition, people can't embrace them because they don't fit the mold; people hate them for the same things that make them interesting. it just so happens that the mass population hates to think; when the average person sits down to watch a film they expect to be entertained and the thinking should already be done for them.
100% with you man! I can talk about me.. I sometimes want to see a movie with my mind turned off like CRANK for example. BUT I REALLY LOVE movies that make you think. Those movies can make you a better person.
I loved No Country for Old Men and I love much of Charlie Kaufman's output, but, if I'm honest, I value the opportunity to soak up a little junk once in a while too.
I love what you say Charlie, but most good movies do what you say. That's why the good ones you can watch over again because they seem to grow and open up as you come back to them time and time again...sorry...you are very intricate and creative director though. Just do it. You don't to need justify it. lol
You have to have a balance. I find people are turning to these kind of films then all of a sudden walking around calling their views all reforming and "intellegent" when their just following a crowd doing the exact thing they all preach against. I wouldn't call Kaufman a genius; he knows how to make character development truthfully and make a film look and feel beautiful but that's most of what makes his films good. The stories and how his movies play out are actually quite simplistic.
You missed my point completely. I'm a fan of Kaufman's but I wouldn't call him a genius because each director brings a different strength and weakness to their movies. I would say Trainspotting by Danny Boyle brings a lot of story characterization or Panic Room directed by David Fincher brings a really defined way of filming. Darren Aronofsky brings a lot of characterization similarily to Kaufman which I'm a fan of, but it's not the only aspect of film making.
Well....while this isn't a huge response (I'm not one of those people who likes to go on for awhile), I would say he may be considered a genius of today because, while somewhat pretentious, he tries to make us think in a different light while mostly avoiding cliches that many other directors fall into, and during the times he may use a cliche, he does it in such an original fashion that it isn't so tedious.
what was the purpose of this film? What was the director trying to portray? Please don't write your own opinion about what you thought about the film... i'm trying to find out simply what the DIRECTOR/CREATOR wanted to achieve...
the whole 'beauty' of this film is that you can't just say "it's a film about X", but essentially it's showing paranoia over illness and depression and death, time and dreaming. sorry if that's too vague, have you seen the film?
I haven't seen Synedoche yet, but Mr. Kaufman sounds a genius. He also seems much older than he looks (not years, lifetimes). I going out the buy the movie right now (really)
I'm saying it's moronic not to think about death. I agree completely with what you've said Jonmad. I'm saying it's moronic and insipid not to care how long you have to leave your stamp of brilliance on the world. Not to worry about death is to take life for granted. You've only got so long to do something, and if you really want to do it, it's nice to know how long you have, right?
Also, saying that Charlie Kaufman is "just stupid" for any reason is absolutely ridiculous.
people who think about death like this are just stupid.I mean you'll die sure, you'll be alive, you'll be walking along doop doop bedoop and then you'll be dead.I mean whats the problem.when ur dead u won't care that ur dead, so why should you care when ur alive that ur going to die. of course your going to die jackass, thats what we do, does it really matter. why do you think about this stuff, worrying about nothing,most people think about the stuff thats right in front of their face
Why is it moronic to think about death? It's something unavoidable, and it inspires us to create. If no one thought about dieing then no one would care to create. Artists create to leave a lasting impression on the world. Something that stays after they are gone.
Admittedly, not all artists are inspired by death. Some are inspired by money, fame, or then need to create happiness in other people, but everyone wants to leave a lasing impression.
ahh I don't know if i'd be the right person for this conversation but I disagree. u seem to think all artists are like Keats with his ode to a grecian urn, craving immortality through their art.I think thats a stupid reason to make art and I think plenty of artists are simply expressing themselves, expressing a close sense of their humanity, because there are alot of derivations of humanity out there, and art helps them and other people to remember the unquantifyable notion of their true selves
I should point out that i am of the opinion that an important part of embracing your humanity is to accept your own mortality. I personally believe that if one constructs a world where we are all striving for immortality, we will come to live within a derivative interpretation of what it is to be human. That is my opinion and it is this frame of mind which feeds into the logic of my previous comment to you a few minutes ago. ok bye bye
I saw this movie today at the cinema.,.. I can't get it out of my mind!!! Iy's a masterpiece. My favourite part is when Olive, his daughter, dies bcause the tattooed flowers on her body die. When she dies, one of the tattooed petals falls off her body. I downloaded the soundtrack immediately. The movie made me emotionally drained and charged - it's still in my head - I can't stop thinking about it. What do you think?
I think YOU are the idiot for reading these notes BEFORE you have seen the film. Of course, this page is for people who want to comment on the film, share favourite parts and find meanings AFTER they have seen the film. In other words... I bet you read all of the text knowing that a scene was being described! Duh!! - Did you have the freedom to stop reading at any point or not???? Because if you did, then you are obviously the idiot!
no,this page is for people who are planing to see the movie and want to have an idea of it,or people who just wanna watch an interview with kaufman like my case,if you want to share your thoughts and emotions about the movie there is forums for that or you can just warn people of spoiler befor starting mentioning thing that happend in the movie...and no i didn't complete reading the comment .
OMG if you didn't COMPLETE reading the comment - then surely NOTHING has been spoiled for you!!!! Do you not have anything better to do on a Saturday night?? Go and watch the film and enjoy it ;]
Uhh...I don't know who else noticed this but the scroll at the bottom is wrong...Kaufman didn't win an Oscar for Adaptation, he won for Best Original Screenplay for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
I'm glad I've been under the watch of my current screenwriting professor....I'm afraid most would say "Hey, so I'm gonna need you to dish out a three act screenplay....oh and follow this stencil!"
Have no inhibitions...and if you ever have a prof. who wants something tripe...fuck him/her...write what you want and turn it in for an F. You'll be doing yourself a favor.
now tat I've seen this I have to say that nic cage just earned the oscar for playing charlie in adaptation soooo much.... 1:1
MrArthurrimbaud 3 weeks ago
hire me charlie i can bring storytelling back to the the masses
m420carbine4 2 months ago
This man is a (creative) genius.
ShadowsHaveShadows1 2 months ago
Everytime I finish watching a film that Charlie Kaufman worked on I just I sit back in silent awe.
james77se7en 2 months ago
movies are dead because the trough pigs in suits only comission remakes and reboots. More Inceptions and less reboots of a 7 year old Spiderman please.
Pentdad 3 months ago
@Pentdad please no more inceptions :(
JoeyASRV 2 months ago
@JoeyASRV I thought Inception was overrated too... but at least it was original. All these nerds and idiots looking forward to the Spiderman reboot were hes back at school. We've seen all that. Ugh.
Pentdad 2 months ago
ignorance is bliss
boogiebuddy01 4 months ago
Kaufman: visonary, rule breaker. He should hold his head up.
WebCamTheMovie1 4 months ago
that last question was very amateur, 'advice to writers'? jesus christ....
supernudist 5 months ago
I respect this guy as a writer, but sorry Synecdoche New York was just pretentious crap, terrible film, only good thing was the music and acting. Maybe if you only watch hollywood films then movies are "dead" there's plenty of great directors around like wong kar wai and park chan wook
AJedProduction 7 months ago
@AJedProduction pretentious is your belief system and sounds like jealousy. and yeh thats my belief.
Nevawake 6 months ago
@Nevawake Jealousy? What? Erm no......I just really hated the film. I thought everything was good except for the most important thing, storyline.
AJedProduction 6 months ago
@AJedProduction hahaha, yeah I thought it sucked too. :)
Tinytacohead 3 months ago
@AJedProduction
I agree. It suggested to me that Kaufman has benefitted from the interpretations and expectations of the directors he's worked with. I didn't get the impression that he couldn't direct (hence the quality acting), but rather that his scripts benefit from having someone else to pull them back to earth.
And yes, there are plenty of directors out there who are making great works. I wonder what Duncan Jones would do with a Kaufman script?
Fatpie42 5 months ago
@AJedProduction You are that kind of "weird" people who only likes asian directors, right?
Oh, Oldboy, it had to be so difficult to write... just put a good idea at the first 5 minutes, and then just put some random revenge and a weird (not shocking) ending and 'voila', for a lot of people, that's an excellent movie.
I just described the most part of asian movies.
Think in Kill Bill which is based on asian movies and read again what I wrote.
GuilleGon 3 weeks ago
@GuilleGon How is it weird for an Asian guy to like Asian directors? But no I don't only like Asian directors, I'm a big fan of Almodovar, Danny Boyle for example. You have your opinion on Oldboy, but at least it succeeds in telling a great story, unlike this mess. Kill Bill is a parody of B-Grade low budget over the top martial arts movies. You know nothing about asian cinema mate. Your probably one of those people that stop watching a movie as soon as you see subtitles.
AJedProduction 3 weeks ago
it's a little bit high on it's own piss, but then again, so's kaufman.
it's hard to like the characters or even care about them because they
DO NOT exist in this world.
WhatAboutTheProles 8 months ago
you must be an active and engaged viewer when watching synecdoche. its not like transformers where you can sit on your ass and just go "oooh" and "ahhhh" like a caveman or someshit. and its not incomprehensible, its called "existentialism", duh. respect Kaufman for treating this film like real art. the fact that there is such a divide in criticism means that it was a successful film. it provokes thought and is a beautiful piece. if you still can't understand it, watch it in 10, 20 years.
stevenas135 10 months ago 2
@stevenas135 I love that you talk about existentialism, in the same sentence as the words "like a caveman or someshit" whoever said it is incomprehensible is in some way correct because the movie is so open to interpretation and you can derive whatever you like from it, in terms of existentialism it is only the character's arc that really touches on that, instead of the whole film. As for the last part no one person can "understand" the film as there is so many different outlooks...
HateLandCo 8 months ago
Synecdoche was too incomprehensible
stratosl 11 months ago
@stratosl or maybe the most sincere you can say is that you are very stupid
richardxob 9 months ago
the problem is, 90% of people who see senecdoche will not get it. at all. you need to watch it atleast twice before you even have a frame from which to view it.
nubtuberable 11 months ago 5
@nubtuberable Charlie Kaufman himself said that whatever reaction an audience member has to Synecdoche, is the right reaction, because it's their own. So I don't see how anyone could not "get it"... I think it's kind of ironic that a fan of his wouldn't extend the same to other people...but then again I guess even that's an okay reaction (given that it's what you really feel)
kevinsmellls 9 months ago
I love all of his other films but for someone who is in constant touch with reality, I tend pass on films like this. If I want to be depressed, I watch my own life.
viniciusb 11 months ago
Thanks, dude! I love ya!
ashikkerib 1 year ago
he's like an old michael cera
MrDoriefs 1 year ago
great movie
inrwizards 1 year ago
a few more charlie kaufmans and a few less michael bays please.
InstantKarmaAndroid 1 year ago 49
@InstantKarmaAndroid I would reply but an asteroid is heading towards earth and i have to rendevous with a rag-tag group of astronauts oil drillers to help blow it to pieces.
dkthg 5 months ago
Hollywood movies use the same formula, they just cut out pieces and paste in new ones to make it seem "BRAND NEW AND AWESOME." I always think of that Family Guy episode where Stephen King comes up with his next book about a "lamp monster." Yes, that would be how Hollywood movies are these days.
downoteof 1 year ago
You are such an inspiration to aspiring film students such as myself, Kaufman. I love your films and cannot wait to see your next film.
samus323 1 year ago
He looks like a mix of Stu Ungar and Malcolm Gladwell, and has a brilliant mind like both of them.
EGarrett01 1 year ago
'Be diligent (hard working) & courageous'. I'll take note. Thank you Mr. Kaufman, Interviewer, Wgadotorg & Youtube!
sraptv 1 year ago
Wow. This man is a genius and I don't use that word lightly. So many people seem to be offended by being asked to consider the really 'big' concepts like mortality and death. It's pathetic. Think of all the hours and weeks you've wasted watching formulaic Hollywood movies whose only goal is to get you to pay 10 quid on opening weekend, sit down and shut up and don't think. This movie is the most magnificent 'up yours' to the passive movie-watching experience.
tmcs4 1 year ago 6
What has he got against pragmatism ?
eldorado61guy 1 year ago
Charlie's shirt is terrible
cloud8a 1 year ago
Synecdoche, New York is a masterpiece.
magicbibledotcom 1 year ago 22
His "no advice" is the best advice for a writer that I have ever heard.
tiuric77 1 year ago 2
Also, I hope this film get's the recognition it deserves some day. It's another gem that go's misunderstood by a non understanding and largely unappreciative, cynical, obsurde and and disproportionately idiotic society. Why are comparisons to Tarantino or Kevin Smith even being posted? Simply because they are successful writer/directors? Their bodies of work are not even remotely similar. QT and KS made a few fun flicks, but kaufman owns the realm of the humane condition. Suck on that.
collinsrussell1 1 year ago
@collinsrussell1 Take your head out of your arse. Reservoir Dogs, Clerks.
qqs764 1 year ago
pseudo-intellectual crap? This is obviously a term used defensively by those who are seemingly unintelligent. Look, If you do not possess any sort of real intellect yourself, than I am baffled by the idea that you have any understanding of what exactly makes something authentically so, which is essential to knowing it's opposite. Kaufman's work strives at something more elusive and ambitious than pure entertainment. I am not shocked that some didn't get it, or were bored.
But why the animosity?
collinsrussell1 1 year ago
@collinsrussell1 You're a psuedo-intellectual because you're under the assumption that both:
A) Your opinion is right.
and
B) Your opinion matters.
qqs764 1 year ago
@qqs764 LoL @ list enumerating two tiny clauses and using a simple conjunction anyways.
0dxpx 1 year ago
@collinsrussell1 Dude, that "i'm on a whole different level than you disgraceful mortals" argument is why these people are telling you to shut up. You know, people generally "get it", they just don't make a big deal of it cause they don't need to. Now, Kaufman is a great writer, but he's been doing the same stuff for years and people aren't willing to love him as much as you do. Ok?
moderjoker 1 year ago
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pseudo-intellectual crap? This is obviously a term used defensively by those who are seemingly unintelligent. Look, If you do not possess any sort of real intellect yourself, than I am baffled by the idea that you have any understanding of what exactly makes something authentically so, which is essential to knowing it's opposite. Kaufman's work strives at something more elusive and ambitious than pure entertainment. I am not shocked that some didn't get it, or were bored.
But why the animosity?
collinsrussell1 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
pseudo-intellectual crap? This is obviously a term used defensively by those who are seemingly unintelligent. Look, If you do not possess any sort of real intellect yourself, than I am baffled by the idea that you have any understanding of what exactly makes something authentically so, which is essential to knowing it's opposite. Kaufman's work strives at something more elusive and ambitious than pure entertainment. I am not shocked that some didn't get it, or were bored.
But why the animosity?
collinsrussell1 1 year ago
Comment removed
collinsrussell1 1 year ago
I'm sure the film was good, I just found it incredibly dull. I never found myself particularly caring about any of the characters to be honest. I think I understood the film, but at no point did I particularly enjoy it, I really felt every minute pass.
williamsa15 1 year ago
i tried to watch it 4 times, each time not being able to get past the first 10 minutes, and 3 out of those 4 times, i didn't make it the full 10. absolutely tedious. a bunch of artsy long island faggots acting like faggots.
msa1985 1 year ago
Am I the only one who's favorite Kaufman film is, in fact, "Being John Malkovich"? Yes, "Adaptation": Excellent. "Eternal Sunshine": Brilliant. "Synecdoche, New York": Probably the best movie he'll ever make. But "Being John Malkovich": Maybe my all time favorite movie :P
AStopMotionChannel 1 year ago 4
his movies are masterpieces. i always experience something new when i watch eternal sunshine. my favourite film ever. i really look up to this guy. he should write a book.
qwertyfla 1 year ago
YES YES YES.
rtoles83 1 year ago
Death doesn't have to be depressing...
paulmx 1 year ago
Seeing Kaufman's mannerisms and the way actually speaks, I am dumbfounded at the accuracy of Nicolas Cage's portrayal of him in "adaptation." It is uncanny. I have a new respect for Cage.
baconkingbrown 1 year ago
why argue with success?
perezoso23 1 year ago
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eternal sunshine is garbage..kaufman is over rated..real pseudo intellectual clap trap..he sucks
charlie go read the screenplays for the raging bull, the shawshank redemption, the insider, the godfather and learn something about characters and storytelling...
charlie kaufman blows...God bles him he's conned idiots into thinking he's brilliant...
yeah right...zzzzzzzzzzzzzyawn
StraightTwoDVD 1 year ago
A lot of people are hating on you here, so I'm going to give you a little break.
The movies you mentioned are very good movies but in a different way than something like "Synecdoche" is. When it comes to story-telling, those films tend to follow the same basic formula, and since those films are so good, we tend to judge what is good based on the formula, rather than other things in the film. "Eternal Sunshine" was like a love story film, save that it was basically in reverse, e.g. new formula.
smiledammit24 1 year ago
I loved this movie, have to see it again, I've liked the movies he's written only that I've seen, missed a couple i think, but not so much as this one. He must have had a small team of technical directors helping him on this one though.
philipsmog 1 year ago
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kaufman sucks..he is so fucking over rated..his scripts blow...pseudo intellectual bullshit real crap
StraightTwoDVD 1 year ago
elaborate will you please.
Would you prefer the banal cookie cutter films that Hollywood shits out into theaters every week?
Bhaile08 1 year ago
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please..dont give me a choice of crap like valentines day with ashton kutcher or ....charlie kaufman films...puhlease
but kaufman is so over rated...eternal sunshine sucked...real crap...
its like lasse hallstrom the director...he has legions of worshippers...he sucks..and his best films were all due to his d.p. and the writer...
kaufman sucks...go watch "the insider" or "the shawshank redemption" if you wanna see great scripts made into great films...
charlie kaufman blows
StraightTwoDVD 1 year ago
You're seriously going to mention Ashton Kutcher and Charlie Kaufman in the same sentence?
Bhaile08 1 year ago 3
Kaufman isn't exactly my taste but I understand that he is very good. Saying that "The Insider" was a better written film than "Being John Malkovich" is just false by the face of the statement. Kaufman is a great writer, I mean he's no Quentin Tarantino but he is quite good. I'd rank him somewhere around Diablo Cody and Kevin Smith. I agree that he isn't our generations Paul Schrader if that makes you feel any better.
McNugget06 1 year ago
@McNugget06
U ARE A DIPSHIT..KEVIN SMITH IS A FAT LOAD no talent
he ripped off "fast times at ridgemont high"...
shit kevin smith...a loser....
kaufman sucks..eternal sunshine was garbage...go watch raging bull, the godfather, the insider, papillion and then talk to me fool...
kaufman appeals to pseudo intellectuals losers like u...
kaufman couldnt carry tarantino's jock strap..but u would u queer douch
StraightTwoDVD 1 year ago
I own all of those films you named besides "The Insider" on special edition DVD. Those are hardly under cuts of cinema. Try watching fucking Francois Truffaut, Bernardo Bertolucci, or any fucking Ingmar Bergman film, than with a little education about what you're saying come back and talk to me. Your knowledge of film is second to an infants. From where I'm standing your an ape. Kevin Smith is actually good, go watch Chasing Amy motherfucker.
McNugget06 1 year ago 4
@McNugget06
kevin smith is a zero...it shows how ignorant you are...kevin smith?
why am i even talking to a buffoon like you..oh yes kevin smith's tour-de-force "COP OUT" starring tracy morgan and bruce willis...A MASTER WORK IN MOVIE MAKING...
gee what film school did you go to mcnugget? limp noodle community college? i bet
so go enjoy "COP OUT" and eternal sunshine....
bye bye LIMP NOODLE MCNUGGET
StraightTwoDVD 1 year ago
@StraightTwoDVD First of all you don't even know what the fuck you're talking about because Cop Out wasn't even written by Kevin Smith dumb shit. Watch Chasing Amy, it's equally as good as Eternal Sunshine, if not better. Francis Ford Coppola directed Jack. So by your standard Coppola is a hack? Your logic is fucking retarded. Get an education on cinema before you open your stupid fuckin' mouth. Watch a fucking Krzysztof Kieslowski film and than come and talk idiot.
McNugget06 1 year ago
@StraightTwoDVD Here's a list of directors for you to watch in order for you to understand what you're fucking talking about: Bernardo Bertolucci, Jean-Pierre Melville, Fredrico Fellini, Douglas Sirk, François Truffaut, Dario Argento, Cheh Chang, Sujien Suzuki, Jules Dassin, Ingmar Bergman, Sam Peckinpah, Howard Hawks, Sam Fuller, Michelangelo Antonioni, Jean-Luc Godard, Gillo Pontecorvo, Costa-Gravras', Michael Powell, Luchino Visconti, F.W. Murnau, Gasper Noe, John Cassavetes, Preston Sturges
McNugget06 1 year ago 2
@McNugget06 Great list, but I don't think that Gaspar Noe's work would really appeal to EVERYBODY.
Fudgeyer 1 year ago
@Fudgeyer Haha well I think that's the beauty of his work. Jean-Luc Godard is certainly not for everyone either, for far different reasons of course.
McNugget06 1 year ago
@StraightTwoDVD But no I'm clearly ignorant. Go back to fucking Hollywood video and rent fucking Eternal Sunshine again so you can cum in your pants and pretend you know something about cinema. Shut the fuck up.
McNugget06 1 year ago
you're a little bitch that can't fucking spell, let alone write anything that gets produced into a major motion picture so you have no place to critique anything except what comes out of your ass you stupid fucking "douch" bag.
TheGirlsAtTheShack 1 year ago
@StraightTwoDVD Mcnugget06 tore you several new assholes. GG.
keviwevi93 1 year ago
@StraightTwoDVD Are you trying to say that Kevin Smith is bad just because of his obesity? Really?
Fudgeyer 1 year ago
@Fudgeyer
no ...he is over rated...big time....he rips off others ideas...
and he's been reduced to making crap like "cop out"..
puhlease...kevin smith is no brilliant artist...next you'll be tellling me brett ratner's a genius...charlie kaufmans eternal sunshine sucked..a bore...drivel...a lousy film
StraightTwoDVD 1 year ago
Kaufman is light years ahead of Diablo Cody and Kevin Smith. You CAN'T be serious. I won't press the issue. But I will encourage you to watch Kaufmans films a few times through repeatedly. There is apparently a lot there that you're not seeing.
Great art requires great effort, not only to create, but also to experience.
Also if Tarantino had to write something as intellectually compelling as Synecdoche or Adaptation, he wouldn't have a clue where to start.
baillou2 1 year ago
I feel with you because you're a retard. But - for all our sakes - shut the fuck up and go watch some Avatar or Shawshank Redemption. You will never experience real art. Perhabs in your next life, looser.
Vesters1 1 year ago
@Vesters1
real art? hahaha..charlie kaufman sucks...pseudo intellectual clap trap...the guys a master con artist...like that fruit versace who gets yentas to pay 400 bucks for a pair of ugly jeans....charlie knows he sucks and looks in the mirror sees his ugly self and says thank God for losers who like me
StraightTwoDVD 1 year ago
@Vesters1 Okay, we'll give you Shawshank for sure, but not Avatar. Out of all of the films deemed "artistic", Avatar wouldn't be much of a first choice.
Fudgeyer 1 year ago
Kaufman is incredible in that he is over 50 years old, yet has managed to keep such a youthful and open perspective on life. I feel that most of us struggle or give up, or forget about that and become lost in our own certainty, our own assurance that we have learnt meaningful things, or that we have progressed from a few years previously, when in fact it is a lie, and we will never be any closer to the truth than we were at any past moment in our life.
BOB2112420 1 year ago 5
@BOB2112420 The amazing thing is that Charlie can understand all of these complex feelings and emotions... he makes us all feel equal, like we all feel the same way about life and death. The way he made Synecdoche just made me question everything. It's like the movie looked into my brain.
Fudgeyer 1 year ago 2
@BOB2112420
In fact, you are contradicting yourself in an interesting way. What you said is precisely what IS learned. Progress concerning pragmatic means is also achieved, but an ultimate goal remains elusive.
Kaufman explains: "It’s dealing with real world fears and mortality and illness and loneliness and isolation and all those things that are the real things that people are scared of. Meaning, lack of meaning."
That's eventually what we have to come to grips with.
mateo3470 1 year ago
I own this movie. It's a mindfuck if there ever was one. Not a "Last Year in Marienbad" mindfuck, but the kind of mindfuck that really makes you think what you watched, and taunts you to watch it again to make sure you understood what you saw.
AGentertainment 2 years ago 3
Great movie, but one that I will never watch again, because I agree with you, it was truly a "mindfuck."
I felt like I had a psychotic break after I watched it. Truly. Never has a work of art so warped my sense of reality, of mental and emotional stability. Which speaks volumes about Charlie Kaufman's work. I really believe he is a genius, the best, most innovative screenwriter working today.
steelstrings87 1 year ago 3
@steelstrings87 I really liked Sammy, the stalker. He was a truly strange character.
Fudgeyer 1 year ago
okay i m losin interest to what he has to say becos he is not makin eye contact. But i love him. He is awesome
luckyycharrm 2 years ago 2
One of the best screenwriters of this generation.
Super8StrikesBack 2 years ago 6
He's not makin'any eye contact.That show how shy he is.That's why all his lead characters are similar.
YT0Vits 2 years ago
this is a bit of a boring interview but what a movie, what a masterpiece
DopplegangerLv21 2 years ago 2
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yeah, thats why this movie lost 16 million dollars? retard.
wayfarin 2 years ago
you are so stupid. you even lissent all interview for write something like that. poor ignorant.
anacolangelo 2 years ago
boom boom!
johnjohn302 2 years ago
>Implying non-jewish people cannot suffer from psychoses.
>Implying your statement isn't bullshit.
>Implying you are not an impotent noby who turns his self-hatred into racism towards minorities.
Ghavin86 2 years ago
I love Kaufman and the whole " Broadway Danny Rose" feel. Most of us are more than slightly neurotic...the origin of our personality. When Kaufman speaks, I feel he is "talking truth" about all of "us"...and this movie...it is life, walking the unknown path to death. Loved it!!!
lynage1 2 years ago 5
jewish psychosis? So he's a jew first and a human second is he? I don't understand the justification in criticizing someone elses perception of reality when it's all quite subjective 'jew or no jew'. What right do you have? Are you arrogant enough to claim the way you see the world is the ultimate view; your better than everyone else around you are you? I have to apologise then because obviously your a god and I'm just a mere mortal. You cunt.
mailboxqwert 2 years ago
I think Kaufman is an acquired or personal taste.
I like good characters that follow a natural progression. I found Hoffman's character in Synecdoche interesting, but then Kaufman played with time/space/reality and lost me. The movie centered around a dying theatre director, then became detached fantasy. I understand why some people would like Synecdoche, but it's not my cup of tea!
BigMisterBig1 2 years ago
The thing I like that he says here is about rewatching his films. I always liked Adaptation. But there was so much going on. I read The Orchid thief and went back to Adaptation. I love how many ideas Kaufman incorporates into his stories for people, and leaves for you to discover, arrive at, or explore as a completely foreign concept an idea that having been written for you is now an idea that you are aware of having. And one you have never till now had before.
jillby99 2 years ago 2
Be diligent and courageous guys!!!
qwertj1 2 years ago
There is no third act structure in modern films. There is no such thing as a resolution. A 90 second montage or one added scene is such bullshit.
nerfballs2000 2 years ago
Yes, i agree. Kaufman is an indulgent writer. Not necessarily a bad thing, obviously he has a strong sense of self when writing and doesn't sell out his ideas.
helloimmatt2 2 years ago 2
What he says about structure there, perfect. Roughly all films each year end up with some huge plot failure in the last quarter of the film, a wonderful resurrection, such narrative flows are getting tiring. Irony is sadly just becoming predictable. "Oh, that was the girl from the beginning!" as the big twist, it has to be broken while still keeping the audience engaged. Indulgent writers like Kaufman are the last hope for cinema.
MoonlinerPictures 2 years ago 43
Come on, that sentence could be 'Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind', I don't know if you know what I mean.
GuilleGon 2 years ago
@MoonlinerPictures Teen audience, the true rulers of Hollywood, don't want the change. They want everything by the formula. They interpret any deviation from the formula as a sign of bad writing. Or as they say, that the film sucks. They literally want the same shit in a new and shiny package. The perfect consumers. Luckily there are plenty of films being made outside of Hollywood to be watched and enjoyed.
dragmio 9 months ago
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he seems depressed
Lancekarasti 2 years ago
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Kaufman should be horsewhipped for inflicting that dreary nonsense on the public. saw it last night and couldn`t believe how depressing, long and smug it was. that guy is a sham a cod intellectual. waste of 20 million dollars
johnjohn302 2 years ago
I found it truthful and depressing.
All and all a good movie. I don't agree that because it depressed you it was a bad movie.
Charlie is a genius whether or not he makes happy movies.
akanathan 2 years ago 55
I personally loved this film I cant watch it enough
thefatman69dude 2 years ago 7
Charlie Kaufman shows us how utterly absurd we all can be. He will be remembered long after he's gone.
ZenBarracuda 2 years ago
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agreed!
BillyChaka 2 years ago
Charlie's already timeless.. Loved "Adaptation". "Synecdoche, New York" was okay, and I applaud his unbridled imagination, but I'm not a fan.
CoolMovesNow 2 years ago
Techniqically, were already dead as humans; but, the flip side were just on a time clock; its just what you do while your living determines the imgaination for others. Anyone else have any thoughts on this subject?
Shadowgod707 2 years ago
The 'time clock' is a conveyer belt from soup to nuts. Nice in theory, but who needs theory.
ZenBarracuda 2 years ago
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I totally agree, when you get a chance check out my channel and subscribe alright! Thanks for your timely response.
Shadowgod707 2 years ago
Charlie just wants what every great artist wants - to become "timeless".
Adrian101882 2 years ago
I dunno. I write stories and I just want to produce the clearest account of myself through the characters I create. In that sense, my stories are purely self portraits.
ZenBarracuda 2 years ago
Thats everybody. I write fiction. But in some way or form i write my attitudes or personalities of people i have met. I can be talking about a cyborg, but in reality i am talking about how much of a hard-ass my dad was with me when i was a kid.
WallyWadeMovies 2 years ago 4
Evidently, you paint with much broader strokes than me. I don't draw from the people I have encountered in my life. I only ever write about my own pain and alienation. I really don't mean that to sound grim. It really isn't. Sure, my stories are as black as hell - but they're shot through with humour.
ZenBarracuda 2 years ago
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But you can create timeless films without them being abstract, or outside of the norm. I admire what Charlie does, as I really enjoy films you have to go back to multiple times to better understand the experience with new found information from the last watch. But sometimes, I feel he's simply trying to be different. And in the words of Robert Mckee - "difference for the sake of difference is as empty as slavishly following commercial imperatives."
ByYourCommand 2 years ago
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Thats lame
WallyWadeMovies 2 years ago
I kinda didnt want to watch this movie. then I forced myself to and i cried 3 times
themaybatatter 2 years ago
Thank you Charlie Kaufman, just thank you. :)
missjoke 2 years ago 4
i understand what he means but i don't thin movies are dead, i think people want movies to be dead. that's why movies like this or "no country for old men" are hit with such opposition, people can't embrace them because they don't fit the mold; people hate them for the same things that make them interesting. it just so happens that the mass population hates to think; when the average person sits down to watch a film they expect to be entertained and the thinking should already be done for them.
porter402 2 years ago 2
Hey i hated No Country for old man and loved Synecdoche, so...there's that. But i get it.
tibifidus 2 years ago
100% with you man! I can talk about me.. I sometimes want to see a movie with my mind turned off like CRANK for example. BUT I REALLY LOVE movies that make you think. Those movies can make you a better person.
elbichoportu 2 years ago
Couldn't have put it better myself. :) Hence why people like Kaufman and the Coen Brothers are so, so important to film as it currently exists.
OGMillwood 2 years ago
I loved No Country for Old Men and I love much of Charlie Kaufman's output, but, if I'm honest, I value the opportunity to soak up a little junk once in a while too.
ZenBarracuda 2 years ago
If he was a woman I would fall in love with her :)
Zwartekaka 2 years ago
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New Anamated band hit the streets! We called Tokyo Cruch House! Check it!
tokyocrushhouse 2 years ago
I liked your "band" better when it was called Gorillaz, and had talent.
tatelabianca 2 years ago
I love what you say Charlie, but most good movies do what you say. That's why the good ones you can watch over again because they seem to grow and open up as you come back to them time and time again...sorry...you are very intricate and creative director though. Just do it. You don't to need justify it. lol
Xelanderthomas 2 years ago
Unfortunately Hollywood demands interviews from it's protagonists, whether they want to or not.
moseley101 2 years ago
You have to have a balance. I find people are turning to these kind of films then all of a sudden walking around calling their views all reforming and "intellegent" when their just following a crowd doing the exact thing they all preach against. I wouldn't call Kaufman a genius; he knows how to make character development truthfully and make a film look and feel beautiful but that's most of what makes his films good. The stories and how his movies play out are actually quite simplistic.
Comixgalore 2 years ago
I'd like to see you do better. What have you seen by other filmmakers that is better than this?
kasey172 2 years ago
You missed my point completely. I'm a fan of Kaufman's but I wouldn't call him a genius because each director brings a different strength and weakness to their movies. I would say Trainspotting by Danny Boyle brings a lot of story characterization or Panic Room directed by David Fincher brings a really defined way of filming. Darren Aronofsky brings a lot of characterization similarily to Kaufman which I'm a fan of, but it's not the only aspect of film making.
Comixgalore 2 years ago
I'm a bitch!
kasey172 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Unless you can create a sustained response on why Kaufman is a "genius", Stop calling him one, because we all know he really isn't.
quicklyintothevoid 2 years ago
Well....while this isn't a huge response (I'm not one of those people who likes to go on for awhile), I would say he may be considered a genius of today because, while somewhat pretentious, he tries to make us think in a different light while mostly avoiding cliches that many other directors fall into, and during the times he may use a cliche, he does it in such an original fashion that it isn't so tedious.
iamthepeppernator 2 years ago
Thank you for telling me the answer!
77Fortran 2 years ago
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is all the reasoning I need.
YoungFilmMaker1 2 years ago
I agree. Kaufman is one of the only geniuses in cinema today.
SignorBacon 2 years ago 2
Charlie Kaufmann's a genius.
nandahrasko 2 years ago 2
If Kaufman's a genius,
then what is Shakespeare?
Kaufman's brilliant.
Shakespeare's a genius.
Valerian1 2 years ago
semantics. some people are going to be more attracted than Charlie's work than William's. That's how it is. There's no "better than" :)
madsketcher 2 years ago
Are you majoring in semantics? Do you know his I.Q.? What constitutes genius? I think you have an obtuse perspective.
mphurwitz 2 years ago
I had to take 1 day off work just to digest this movie. Brilliant...it just pulled away all my protective layers...leaving me nude
cybersuz1981 2 years ago
what was the purpose of this film? What was the director trying to portray? Please don't write your own opinion about what you thought about the film... i'm trying to find out simply what the DIRECTOR/CREATOR wanted to achieve...
ImSoJohnDeleted 2 years ago
the whole 'beauty' of this film is that you can't just say "it's a film about X", but essentially it's showing paranoia over illness and depression and death, time and dreaming. sorry if that's too vague, have you seen the film?
pajammin 2 years ago 2
I haven't seen Synedoche yet, but Mr. Kaufman sounds a genius. He also seems much older than he looks (not years, lifetimes). I going out the buy the movie right now (really)
StevieSwigginburger 2 years ago
I'm saying it's moronic not to think about death. I agree completely with what you've said Jonmad. I'm saying it's moronic and insipid not to care how long you have to leave your stamp of brilliance on the world. Not to worry about death is to take life for granted. You've only got so long to do something, and if you really want to do it, it's nice to know how long you have, right?
Also, saying that Charlie Kaufman is "just stupid" for any reason is absolutely ridiculous.
ZebraJones01 2 years ago
people who think about death like this are just stupid.I mean you'll die sure, you'll be alive, you'll be walking along doop doop bedoop and then you'll be dead.I mean whats the problem.when ur dead u won't care that ur dead, so why should you care when ur alive that ur going to die. of course your going to die jackass, thats what we do, does it really matter. why do you think about this stuff, worrying about nothing,most people think about the stuff thats right in front of their face
roryphelan 2 years ago
Those people are moronic and insipid.
ZebraJones01 2 years ago
which ones?
roryphelan 2 years ago
Why is it moronic to think about death? It's something unavoidable, and it inspires us to create. If no one thought about dieing then no one would care to create. Artists create to leave a lasting impression on the world. Something that stays after they are gone.
Admittedly, not all artists are inspired by death. Some are inspired by money, fame, or then need to create happiness in other people, but everyone wants to leave a lasing impression.
Jonmad17 2 years ago
ahh I don't know if i'd be the right person for this conversation but I disagree. u seem to think all artists are like Keats with his ode to a grecian urn, craving immortality through their art.I think thats a stupid reason to make art and I think plenty of artists are simply expressing themselves, expressing a close sense of their humanity, because there are alot of derivations of humanity out there, and art helps them and other people to remember the unquantifyable notion of their true selves
roryphelan 2 years ago
I should point out that i am of the opinion that an important part of embracing your humanity is to accept your own mortality. I personally believe that if one constructs a world where we are all striving for immortality, we will come to live within a derivative interpretation of what it is to be human. That is my opinion and it is this frame of mind which feeds into the logic of my previous comment to you a few minutes ago. ok bye bye
roryphelan 2 years ago
which people?
roryphelan 2 years ago
I saw this movie today at the cinema.,.. I can't get it out of my mind!!! Iy's a masterpiece. My favourite part is when Olive, his daughter, dies bcause the tattooed flowers on her body die. When she dies, one of the tattooed petals falls off her body. I downloaded the soundtrack immediately. The movie made me emotionally drained and charged - it's still in my head - I can't stop thinking about it. What do you think?
longeneil 2 years ago
Exactly. I can't get my head round it. These are one of the movies that'll change my mood for the next two weeks. Shocker.
windowsclassic 2 years ago
thanks for the spoiler...idiot!!
zahropit 2 years ago
I think YOU are the idiot for reading these notes BEFORE you have seen the film. Of course, this page is for people who want to comment on the film, share favourite parts and find meanings AFTER they have seen the film. In other words... I bet you read all of the text knowing that a scene was being described! Duh!! - Did you have the freedom to stop reading at any point or not???? Because if you did, then you are obviously the idiot!
longeneil 2 years ago
no,this page is for people who are planing to see the movie and want to have an idea of it,or people who just wanna watch an interview with kaufman like my case,if you want to share your thoughts and emotions about the movie there is forums for that or you can just warn people of spoiler befor starting mentioning thing that happend in the movie...and no i didn't complete reading the comment .
zahropit 2 years ago
If you didn't read the comment - then what are you moaning about? Stop wasting everybody's time! I'll say no more.
longeneil 2 years ago
i said i didn't COMPLETE reading the comment...wow you are an idiot !
zahropit 2 years ago
OMG if you didn't COMPLETE reading the comment - then surely NOTHING has been spoiled for you!!!! Do you not have anything better to do on a Saturday night?? Go and watch the film and enjoy it ;]
longeneil 2 years ago
"here we are, for the moment... alive. Each of us knowing we will die, but... each of us secretly believing we won't."
tsungvarsky 2 years ago 3
a title can mean a lot of things, you'll see. sny.
ruizt 2 years ago
It's good to have a brilliant guy like him, for this, and the upcoming generations.
missjoke 2 years ago
I agree with him that the mindset of one-way structure is nonsence.
Trelli28 2 years ago
Uhh...I don't know who else noticed this but the scroll at the bottom is wrong...Kaufman didn't win an Oscar for Adaptation, he won for Best Original Screenplay for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
aschaffer07 2 years ago 3
An extra-ordinary self indulgent mess which nonetheless expressed more raw creativity per scene than any film I've seen in ages.
molloyx 2 years ago 3
Comment removed
KARKAEVER 2 years ago
I'm glad I've been under the watch of my current screenwriting professor....I'm afraid most would say "Hey, so I'm gonna need you to dish out a three act screenplay....oh and follow this stencil!"
Have no inhibitions...and if you ever have a prof. who wants something tripe...fuck him/her...write what you want and turn it in for an F. You'll be doing yourself a favor.
WolfEyesRuins 2 years ago