Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Favorite Scenes: Synecdoche, New York


Now here's a scene from a film all three of you who reguarly read this blog most likely haven't seen: Charile Kaufman's directorial debut Synecdoche, New York. Kaufman is better known for writing more popular films such as Being John Malkovich, Adaptation., and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (the latter two are personal favorites of mine). Synecdoche doesn't exactly hold up well with his previous efforts, but it is still a noble and interesting debut. It is incredibly hard to follow, and probably requires several views to get a decent grasp of it (even the title doesn't make sense). Nevertheless, there is a scene that struck me the first (and only) time I watched it, I guess you could say because I can relate to it. The odd part is, being the most powerful scene, it is a speech given by a character who does not appear for the entire film, with the exception of this one scene. It is depressing yes, but he seems to pull the words right out of my mouth, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels the same, at least at one point in one's life. I don't remember the full context of the scene, as in why they are at a fake funeral and such, but I guess that mean's if you like it, you should watch it to find out for yourself.