IMDb > Synecdoche, New York (2008)
Synecdoche, New York
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Synecdoche, New York (2008) More at IMDbPro »

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Synecdoche, New York (2008) -- A viral video promotion for Synecdoche, New York.
Synecdoche, New York (2008) -- Oscar-winner writer Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut, SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK follows the life of regional theater director Caden Cotard (Phillip Seymour Hoffman).
Synecdoche, New York (2008) -- This is the theatrical trailer for Synecdoche, New York, directed by Charlie Kaufman.
Synecdoche, New York (2008) -- A theater director (Hoffman) struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he attempts to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play.
Synecdoche, New York (2008) -- CineMagia.ro - Trailer (Flash)
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Overview

User Rating:
7.4/10   13,345 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 2% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Charlie Kaufman
Writer (WGA):
Charlie Kaufman (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Synecdoche, New York on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
5 February 2009 (Netherlands) more
Genre:
Comedy | Drama more
Plot:
A theater director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he attempts to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
5 wins & 8 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(9 articles)
DVD Playhouse--March 2009
 (From The Hollywood Interview. 10 March 2009, 11:25 PM, PDT)
Rourke Steals The Show At The Independent Spirit Awards
 (From WENN. 21 February 2009, 5:23 PM, PST)
User Comments:
A thought-provoking, challenging Kaufman experience. more (166 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Philip Seymour Hoffman ... Caden Cotard

Catherine Keener ... Adele Lack

Sadie Goldstein ... Olive (4 years old)
Tom Noonan ... Sammy Barnathan

Peter Friedman ... Emergency Room Doctor
Charles Techman ... Like Clockwork Patient

Josh Pais ... Dr. Eisenberg (Opthamologist)

Daniel London ... Tom

Robert Seay ... David

Michelle Williams ... Claire Keen
Stephen Adly Guirgis ... Davis

Samantha Morton ... Hazel

Hope Davis ... Madeleine Gravis
Frank Girardeau ... Plumber

Jennifer Jason Leigh ... Maria
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for language and some sexual content/nudity.
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
124 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English | German
Color:
Color (DeLuxe)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital | DTS
Certification:
USA:R | Australia:M | Czech Republic:15 | Norway:11 | Sweden:Btl | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | UK:15 | Finland:K-11 | Ireland:15A | Singapore:M18 | Portugal:M/16 | Mexico:B15 | Japan:PG12 | Hong Kong:IIB
Filming Locations:
Bronx, New York City, New York, USA more
Company:
Likely Story more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Philip Seymour Hoffman's character's last name is a reference to the Cotard delusion or Cotard's syndrome, also known as nihilistic or negation delusion, which is a rare neuropsychiatric disorder in which a person holds a delusional belief that he or she is dead, does not exist, is putrefying or has lost his/her blood or internal organs. more
Goofs:
Factual errors: In both instances where Caden is posting presents to Germany for Olive, the packages would never arrive - for one because there is no 'Kampfstrasse' in Berlin (though this would literally mean 'Fight Street', most likely a poetic choice made by the filmmakers), but also because the postal code he has written, D-1805, doesn't exist anywhere in Germany. German postal codes are all 5 digits in length, and the ones allocated to Berlin range from 10001 to 14199. more
Quotes:
Caden Cotard: I breathe your name on every exhalation. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Watchmen/Shuttle/12 (#1.2)" (2009) more
Soundtrack:
Auld Lang Syne more

FAQ

Why is Hazel's house on fire?
How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
42 out of 55 people found the following comment useful.
A thought-provoking, challenging Kaufman experience., 20 December 2008
8/10
Author: commandercool88 from United States

syn⋅ec⋅do⋅che: a figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole or the whole for a part, the special for the general or the general for the special 'Synecdoche, New York' marks Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut. A monumental event on its own right. It is a maddening venture, a staggering project to face life's greatest of mysteries. Kaufman takes us on a soul-searching journey, one that he is taking every bit as much as we. It is a trip unlike any I have ever seen, and to say that I enjoyed it would be a very difficult thing to say. But 'Synecdoche' seems to be pointing towards something very profound, as undecipherable as it may appear. A flawed masterpiece, and a risk Kaufman seems willing to take.

There's nothing easy about 'Synecdoche', it is one of the most difficult films I've sat through. It's the sprawling story of one man's life, a tragic life. Philip Seymour Hoffman gives a harrowing performance as his character attempts to create a play of realism and honesty. And even as he dives head first into his work, his own life is in a perpetual state of free fall. A wife who leaves him, a daughter out of his life, relationships that crash and burn. His play, inside a warehouse where he has reconstructed New York City for people to live our their ordinary lives, becomes a fruitless and maddening descent into unhappiness and destruction.

What is 'Synecdoche' about? Is it one man's search for meaning in the midst of meaninglessness? That in order to appreciate the preciousness of life, we must accept the inherent chaos. Existence is what we make of it, and it is the choices we make that shape and define who we are and the lives we lead. Every choice brings with it a million different consequences, some seen and others that go unnoticed.

Kaufman tells us we are one in a world of many. We each play a starring role in the story of our life. People we meet every day, those we know and love. Never will we truly know them, their thoughts, or why they do what they do. And maybe it's not up to us to decipher what we will never understand. We must look inward, not to others, to find peace and insight.

If life is a play, the world is our stage. We only have this one shot, no second chances. We try to control our projectories, cast roles that need to be filled. In the end, what does it matter? Will the world miss us when we're gone? Life is what you make of it. 'Synecdoche, New York' dares to search for meaning, reconcile paradoxes to which there are no answers. But that doesn't keep Kaufman from giving it his best, as tedious and heart-wrenching as it may sometimes be.

More reviews: rottentomatoes.com/vine/journal_view.php?journalid=219276&view=public

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