Synecdoche, New York (2008) - Kaufman's depressing, pretentious debut, eerily tied to Hoffman's tragic real-life end

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A bizarre, manipulated version of a Manhattan cityscape - with a Zeppelin floating through its overcrowded sky, - makes up this interest-building poster for Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York

New York theater director Caden experiences that his wife leaves him to go to Berlin with their daughter. He ventures on new relationships and a mammoth play set in a warehouse, which he works on for 40 years!

Synecdoche, New York is written and directed by Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich (1999, screenwriter)) in his directorial debut.
The debacle of Synecdoche, New York starts with Philip Seymour Hoffman's (Red Dragon (2002)) insufferably anguished performance as Caden, which in an uncanny way presages the great actor's own real-life drug-fueled death in 2014: Caden is staging Death of a Salesman, which is the devastating play that Hoffman was actually acting in, when he let his demons get the best of him, resulting is his drug-fueled death in 2014. Furthermore Caden's therapist in Synecdoche, New York asks him, why he killed himself: "I don't know", he answers. Hoffman's lead character is also a hypochondriac, highly involved in his own bowel movements and seemingly incapable of experiencing joy.
Synecdoche, New York is a long row of absurdist scenes, (Samantha Morton (Sweet and Lowdown (1999)) lives in a burning house, for instance), where actors overtake each others' roles, - which is understandably confusing, - while audiences like me will find themselves either zoning out or downright falling asleep.
An impressive amount of work has been done to erect this blown-up pile of ideas, which never becomes a satisfying whole. It is a film about death and death anxiety, essentially, but Kaufman breaks his nose on Synecdoche, New York and looks pretentious.

Related posts:

Charlie Kaufman: 2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
Anomalisa (2015) or, Depressed Adult Male

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]  
Adaptation (2002) or, Charlie Kaufman's Fictional Life (writer)
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002) or, The Gong Show Killer (writer)
Being John Malkovich (1999) - Jonze, Kaufman and Malkovich's great triumph (writer)

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 20 mil. $
Box office: 4.3 mil. $
= Box office disaster (returned 0.21 times its cost)
[Synecdoche, New York premiered 23 May (Cannes Film Festival, France, in competition) and runs 123 minutes. Kaufman started the project with past collaborator Spike Jonze as an untraditional horror film project, which drew on the things that scare the two artists. The title is a play on Schenectady, New York, where much of the film is set. Shooting took place in New York from May - August 2007. The film opened #30 to a 172k $ first weekend in 9 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #21 and in 119 theaters, grossing 3 mil. $ (69.8 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 875k $ (20.3 %) and Italy with 187k $ (4.3 %). The film won 2/3 Independent Spirit nominations among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, translating to 5 notches higher than this one. He later made it his #1 film of the 00's, and even said it was a strong contender for his all-time Top 10 list. Kaufman returned with How and Why (2014, TV movie) and theatrically with Anomalisa (2015). Hoffman returned in Doubt (2008); Morton in The Daisy Chain (2008); Michelle Williams (Suite Francaise (2014)) in Mammut (2009); Catherine Keener (The Real Blonde (1997)) in A Summer in Genoa (2008). Synecdoche, New York is fresh at 68 % with a 6.75/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Synecdoche, New York?

Drag Me to Hell (2009) - Raimi returns to gleeful horror in high style

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+ Best Horror Comedy of the Year

Alison Lohman is battling ancient evil on the poster for Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell

When loan officer Christine has to reject a loan to a nasty old gypsy lady, she throws a spell on the young, sweet blond, who for the coming 3 days suffers through a true hell, SPOILER only to still end up in, yes, - Hell.

Sam Raimi (Evil Dead II (1987)) is back in the horror genre after many years of Spider-Man (2002; 04; 07) and other movies, with an action- and special effects packed, morbid cocktail, which still doesn't pack a single real shock for me. - The film doesn't really horrify but it matters little, since it entertains like Hell! It is a gleeful and imaginative head-first jump into a pool of colorful no-holds-barred horrors.
Drag Me to Hell has some funny and completely absurd scenes, (the in-law family scene is especially memorable.) The script is co-written by brothers Sam and Ivan Raimi (Spider-Man 3).
Drag Me to Hell is bolstered by real trooper performances from Alison Lohman (The Vatican Tapes (2015)) and Lorna Raver (First Watch (2003)). It is full of superior effects work, rich imagination and a really really cool 3rd act.

Related posts:

Sam Raimi: Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) - A fun, eye-popping adventure
Evil Dead (2013) - One hell of a ride (producer)

2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 
Army of Darkness (1992) or, Medieval Death

Watch the awesome trailer for the film here

Cost: 30 mil. $
Box office: 90.8 mil. $
= Box office success
[Drag Me to Hell received great reviews and debuted at # 4 in North America with a 15.8 mil. $ opening weekend. It ended up grossing 42.1 mil. $ (46 % of the total gross) there. It has since made in excess of 13.9 mil. $ on DVD sales in North America.]

What do you think of Drag Me to Hell?

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence/En Duva Satt på en Gren och Funderade på Tillvaron (2014) - Perhaps Andersson's best film yet

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+ Best Swedish Movie of the Year

The original Swedish poster for Roy Andersson's A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existense

Pigeon is the new film by great Swedish filmmaker Roy Andersson (A Swedish Love Story/En Kärlekshistoria (1970)). It is an often humorous work about being human, the last part of Andersson's trilogy of films about living, which also includes Songs from the Second Floor/Sånger från Andra Våningen (2000) and You, the Living/Du Levande (2007).

Two aging men have a hard time selling their product, various joking devices. A dance teacher experiences a break-up. People die. There is cruelty. Beauty. Disappointments. Sexuality.

Andersson doesn't present a traditional plot, although Pigeon does have something resembling story and more recurring characters than, for instance, Song from the Second Floor. The visual side has grown warmer as well, more diverse and perhaps a little less depressed/depressing.
Pigeon is a nearly perfect, both poetic and highly stimulating film that should be experienced in a cinema and later on at home again. It is a rich and complex experience full of poignant, richly imaginative, often very funny, and also often sad tableau scenes. 39 in all.
Andersson is trying to describe the human condition at its fundamentals, as he sees it, and he has conjured up quite a collection here that accounts for many parts of it, at least: Our aptitude for, in different situations, complaining, for downplaying our letdowns, for reasoning away our defeats, for acting out and regretting, seeking solace and forgiveness, for seeking fundamental answers about our existence, and for wiping these concerns off the table, as our time isn't ever 'convenient' for them. Our propensities for greed, stupidity, evil, sadistic tendencies and obsessions with possessions and earthly titles also interest Andersson, who is never one to sentimentalize our species.
- He does present his ideas, - some quite realistic, others absolutely absurd, - with lots of subtle humor and warmth, and I have never had as good a time with an Andersson film as I had with the beautifully titled A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence. - The title is inspired by the 1565 painting The Hunters in the Snow by Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

Religion is not a part of Andersson's world, it seems, and love is also not something that really interests or convinces him, apparently, which I do feel is a lack of sorts for the film, and it also feels a little long towards its end, especially in the rather long, harrowing scene with the 'African burning instrument.'
The film has several highlights:
Holger Andersson and Nils Westblom ((You, the Living) both) are really great as the two aging business partners, who serve as a story anchor for the film.
The film's most impressive and crowning scenes are two that play out in an apparently contemporary tavern that is suddenly visited by both our salesmen business-partners and King Karl XII of Sweden, on his horse, followed by en immense number of soldiers, mainly outside, who are going off to fight the Russians. Viktor Gyllenberg is quite moving in the part of the homosexual king in these two scenes that really stood out as truly wondrous film magic to me. - Mysterious, weird, powerful, moving and otherworldly.
Pigeon becomes the 2nd really great Swedish film of 2014 that I have seen as of yet, the other one being Ruben Östlund's marvelous couple's crisis/skiing holiday drama, Force Majeure/Turist (2014).

Related posts:

2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] Force Majeure/Turist (2014) or, Swedes in Trouble 

Watch the trailer with English subtitles here

Cost: Approximately 4 mil. €
Box office: 0.2 mil. $ (Sweden 2014 only)
= Too early to say
[Pigeon won the Gold Lion at the Venice Film Festival as Best Film. It has not opened in several important film countries yet. - Don't miss seeing this in a cinema! Acceptable attendance is vital for Andersson's possibilities concerning his next film project.]

What do you think of Roy Andersson and his films?
How did you find A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence?

Un Chien Andalou (1929) or, Clouds Cut the Moon in Two

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A magnificent poster for Luis Buñuel's Un Chien Andalou

QUICK REVIEW:
 
SPOILER Woman gets her eyeball slit open. 6 years after: The man wants the woman. The woman is run over. Ants run across the man's hand. A while later. At Spring.

Un Chien Andalou [An Andulusian Dog] is a stunning short film and a chief work in experimental and surrealist cinema, directed by Spanish master filmmaker Luis Buñuel (The Exterminating Angel/El Ángel Exterminador m(1962)) and co-written by Buñuel and Surrealist master painter/artist Salvador Dalí.
The film, - which is only 16-21 minutes long, depending on the version, - is sublime for the poetic unreality it conjures up, and for the strangely recognizable, abstract perception of dreams and the subconscious that it recreates with its remarkable, subversive aesthetic and compositions, which get stored in the minds of its audiences whether they realize it or not.
The film was made on a tiny budget lend to Buñuel by his mother, and they ran out of money before post production, so that he had to cut the film together in their kitchen without any editing equipment besides a pair of scissors and glue. 
Both artists were surprised to see Un Chien Andalou succeed with the Parisian audience, whom they had expected to outrage into a violent mass-reaction. They were subsequently commissioned to make a sequel, which became L'Age d'Or (1930). The film lasts around 60 minutes, but the wealthy benefactors quickly withdrew it, when the Prefecture of the Paris Police banned it.
Another curio concerns the two main actors in Un Chien Andalou: They both ended their lives with suicide: Pierre Batcheff (Love in Morocco/Baroud (1933)) overdosed in 1932, and Simone Mareuil (Peach Skin/Peau de Pêche (1929)) set herself on fire and burned to death in a public square in 1954.

Here is the film, without English subtitles, however - so order it online, if you don't know French

Cost: Estimated around 100,000 franc
Box office: Unknown
= Unknown

What do you think of Un Chien Andalou?
Other surrealist or absurdist short or feature films that you want to recommend?
If you know why both stars of Un Chien Andalou committed suicide, please, inform us