glimmer tips us that the Word of the Day for October 22 is…
synecdoche \si-NEK-duh-kee\, noun:
a figure of speech by which a part is put for the whole or whole for a part or general for the special or vice versa
ReverseShot.com has some nice things to say about Synechdoche, New York:
We know Kaufman can write; it turns out he can direct, too. More Spike Jonze than Michel Gondry, the now director handles the shifts in mood and atmospherics—from grubby naturalism to understated fantasia—with impressive facility. At times—as in a bit with a rose petal in a deathbed scene, or a passing shot of a dirigible at night—Kaufman even conjures up something approaching beauty… Endless though this hall of mirrors may seem at times, it is also frequently brilliant. Kaufman’s script is a wonder of lapidary craft (only the Coens write screenplays as precise and poetic).
11 Responses for "Word of the Day"
At the press screening for “Synecdoche, New York,” I was baffled to overhear a number of clearly intelligent folks, most of whom were substantially older than me, puzzling over the pronunciation and meaning of the word “synecdoche.”
I grew up in South Africa, so maybe our education system was out of sync with the rest of the world, but did these guys never cover figures of speech at school?
That’s funny, Guy. Back in August, before we had much else to post about the movie, I found a youtube featuring the Cannes elite struggling with the pronunciation too.
(Don’t get me started on the sorry state of America’s public education.)
God, that’s hilarious. I’m sure those guys are looking forward to the slightly more accessible (and pronouncable) sequel, “Metonymy, Alaska.”
Funny link, Ryan. I’ve always loved that word. Metonymy, too. : )
I think this one will be a hit with critics and the cinephile elite, but I can’t imagine it getting more than a WTF? reaction from others. Kaufman had fun making it deliriously impenetrable, I think. All those people who thought the Coens had taken leave of their senses with the NCfOM ending are going to stroke out making sense out of this one. It’ll make them look like Ron Howard in comparison. I’m very interested to see how Synecdoche plays on an emotional and cinematic level, whether it comes across as more than a cognitive puzzle. The music and the early reviews give me great hope.
I believe the reason for the confusion is the movie takes place in Schenectady, so you don’t feel completely confident when you’re saying synecdoche. Given the meaning of the word, I’m fairly confident Kaufman intended it to confuse.
I’ll definitely have to look at this script. LOL!!!!!!!!!
Considering that Reverseshot.com is extremely pretentious and tends to hate just about everything – even when they like it (yet I still always read their reviews?), this seems like pretty high praise for the film.
Just saw it. Wow.
Please tell us more about it, Chris.
“Wow” is the word — I loved it in all its messy glory. For me, it differs from Kaufman’s previous work in that, while the previous films took outlandish conceits and followed them through rationally (‘Malkovich’ in particular is actually a very organised narrative when you look closely), this dives headlong into full dream logic.
Obviously that cast is superb too — Samantha Morton is the pick for me, because she finds the most vulnerability in Kaufman’s words.
(I realise I’m not Chris, but just thought I’d offer some thoughts!)
I enjoyed pretty much reading your article, but you dont seem to know much about this subject!
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