It’s pronounced ’si-NEK-duh-kee’

Add comment September 25th, 2008

I have no idea when (or if) it will arrive in Rockford, but I’m excited about SYNEDOCHE, NEW YORK, the new movie written — and this time directed — by Charlie Kaufman.

Kaufman, of course, is the guy who wrote BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, ADAPTATION and one of my all-time favorites, ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND. He’s known for twisty, mind-bending plots, but this time, he might have outdone himself. SYNEDOCHE is about a playwright (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who writes a “massive theater piece” about himself, hires actors to play himself and his friends, then builds a full-scale replica of New York inside of a warehouse.

I don’t quite understand it either, but here’s the trailer…  

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And here’s the poster, which is all kinds of beautiful…

SYNEDOCHE has been shown at a few festivals, and critics say it’s complicated but brilliant. I know Kaufman gets knocked by some for writing movies that are weird-for-weird sake, but I think he’s the most interesting screenwriter working today, using imaginative methods to create powerful stories about identity, ambition and love.