The Genius of Synecdoche, New York (Part 3) 

6:55 I thought the tattoos are a metaphor for trauma or experiences that we carry with us. We find out later in the film that Olive is still hurt and bitter about not being with her father. At 9:46 Maria says "I did that to her." referring to the tattoo. We later find out that Olive has this resentment for her father because Maria lied to her about him, tattooing her. The tattoo could be a representation of those feelings, that mark her until she dies. "Everyone is tattooed." Would seem to also be in line with this. The tattoos are hidden on both people. We only see Olive's tattoos because she is naked and vulnerable Claire also removes her clothes. When you reveal deep held and hidden feelings one also feels naked and vulnerable emotionally. Claire's tattoo is hidden on her back and although they have had sex it is still hidden from him. Notice that she reveals her tattoo to him when she is obviously upset about feeling second place to his original wife which she had probably been sensing for a while i.e. repressed feelings, that stay with her until she dies. It is also possible that she didn't have the tattoo until after she had these feelings. That would explain why he didn't see it. Finally note that the tattoo is on her back. For her to show it to him she has to be facing away from him. This shows the distance and detachment these feelings(tattoo) have created between them.

I think that the moment when Claire reveals her back tattoo is one of my favorite moments in the film. First of all, I just think it's hilarious. It's so out of left field and on top of that the tattoo doesn't look good at all. However, on top of that I think it says a lot really quickly. First of all, tattoos in the movie symbolize the loss of innocence, and I think they also symbolize the permanence of childhood trauma. Both of these things are shown through Olive. The film emphasizes a lot how our choices have drastic consequences for how our lives turn out, but I think that the scenes involving Olive and tattoos are meant to emphasize how the choices of others, especially when we are children, have permanent, damaging consequences for the rest of our lives as well. The revelation that Claire also has tattoos, and her line that "everyone has tattoos" is meant to convey that like Olive everyone has permanent damage done to them when they are children that affect the rest of their lives through no fault of their own. Furthermore, I think that Caden's response that he has never seen Claire's tattoo is meant to further convey his self-centeredness and the fact that his relationship with Claire is completely surface-level. He is married to this women but he has no understanding of her or the events that occurred in her life and childhood that lead up to that point.

3:55 Adele's name is quite interesting. She makes paintings on a microscopic scale, and Adele Lack Cotard can be heard as "a delicate art."

Isn't it weird how the stalker sammy doesn't show signs of aging through out the movie? To piggyback on Adam's theory that this movie is just a performance, what if sammy is actually the director? idk, just some speculation.

Synecdoche is the last movie I watched with my best friend. The night we watched it, he had shown up at my house suddenly, looking hollow and weighed down. I sat in near silence with him for several hours; he wasn't able to articulate much. He had brought Synecdoche with him. I hadn't heard of it, and we watched it (I thought) it to do something besides just sit there. I remember thinking this was not a good movie to watch to change the subject. He was already very depressed by this point. A few months later, he was in a mental hospital for planning to shoot himself. About a year later he finally did. It was a while after his suicide that I remembered watching Synecdoche with him. He loved film; I guess this one expressed his experience more than I realized at the time. Thank you for your breakdown of this movie's ideas and themes. It's fascinating, but more than that, it's helping me understand and process an aspect of my friend's suicide. (To clarify: I'm not saying that this movie in any way caused my friend's suicide. It just seems like this movie resonated with him very deeply, and maybe expressed more than he could put into words.)

Do you think maybe the thing about Little Winky being written by a 4 year-old is a metaphor for how he thinks his daughter is still 4, but she has actually matured?

I think the final words of the phone call are "It's your father". Caden was so obsessed with death that that was all he needed to hear to assume that his father died.

This film is 68% on rotten tomatoes while 'furious at 7' is 82%, that's some logic

It’s very funny in retrospect that he thought waiting 3 months for the next part was too much

this movie is dope almost as good as Tokyo drift

One thing I just noticed while watching this, that I had never even realized when I watched the film, even after two viewings. Earlier in the film, when Caden's therapist Madeleine, shows Caden "Little Winky" she later notes that it was written by a four-year-old, which happens to be around the same age Olive was when she left with Adele, and in the scene where Caden speaks to Maria in Germany, he screams that she's a four-year-old. I feel that Little Winky was a way of foreshadowing how Olive would turn out in the end.

That shot with the phone call creeped me out. Sammy's shadow in the window looks like the grim reaper. Makes me think Sammy is a metaphor for death. I hope you will touch on that in parts 4 or 5 as to whether or not you feel the same way as I do.

It's worth noting that Adele and Olive live on 'Kampfstrasse' in Berlin. Not only does this street not exist, but it translates to mean 'struggle street'. Also, Ellen and her mother are seen having a picnic together for the first time in the chemotherapy commercial early in the film - adding to the possibility that Caden constructs their/his existence from prior experience.

It's pretty fuckin scary. I have chronical depression and I try not to rewatch this movie since has some fuckin horrible effects when you get into it. But these series of videos can in some strange way help me to see it through again and think about things more clearly in a non-trapped mindset. Thanks Adam, and also, it is fuckin scary that time is passing at this speed.

Sammy is the director, always listening to see if the charactors are saying their lines right.

Adam, please don't get anywhere near discouraged to make more parts of this series, I wouldn't care if I had to sit around my whole life to watch the end. Honestly, your breakdown of this movie is more beautiful than the movie alone. Anyone who watches the movie should watch this as well, I think. Anyway, you're a genius, and you deserve to have your work watched. Fantastic job as always

Caden is definitely trying to find a replacement for Adele and Olive, because he feels that he himself has been replaced by Maria. Adele skips his opening night to get high with Maria, takes her to Berlin instead of him, and Maria raises Olive (replacing him as her father essentially). Perhaps this could also indicate his desire to become Ellen (a woman), because thus far, Adele has preferred the company of a woman to him.

I'm cool cat and i love aaaaaaaaaaall your videos

the person that calls caden while he is having sex, alerting him of his father's death, is the doctor that told caden he will lose his ability to salivate and cry. it's the same voice.

Man, this is NOT a good movie to think about right before going to bed.

The scene at the German café has the German sentence "Ihr wart doch so glücklich!" in the pause between the two characters talking. It translates to "You used to be so happy!", which is probably considering the depth of the film an intentional reference to Cayden's situation.

Don't let us wait months for the next "Synecdoche" videos! Life is short, it's one of the messages of the movie!

1/3 OF THE YEAR HAS GONE BYE. thats literally the best ending to this video possible

When Hazel says, "It's your dime" on the phone, it sounds like she's saying "You're dying".

This is deep man. I feel like I'm digging underground to the centre of the earth

this really is the kind of movie that can drive someone to suicide. I mean movies like this should not be watched by those going through depression or in therapy One Year later: I guess I was wrong

First of all fantastic movie, and i love your series you are making here. I feel like his/her stalker Sammy is to describe "depression". The depression slowly sneaks up on the character, and we see the shadow of the depression when he gets the news about his fathers death.

I can't bring myself to watch these until I've rewatched the movie a couple more times. I don't like the idea of my appreciation for its details being the result of someone else's appreciation for its small details.

I am so jealous of your ability to see and process so much. And of Kaufman. I can only appreciate the movie as a whole, like looking at a tapestry and making out the pattern, some particular techniques.. But it's as though you see how the threads are woven and why they used that particular thread. Hard to explain. Appreciate your work immensely, especially on such a movie. It really shows your own genius, in a way.

You know, it's great and all that this movie perfectly conveys an all-encompassing series of messages about the human condition, leaving you liking it more and more as you think about it, but am I the only one that wishes a movie like this existed that was... erm... happier? Why does it always seem like the most profound stories with the most interesting, relatable characters who go through the most moving of events are always sad stories? I feel like there is another great inception about this movie, and that it itself is a reflection of it's own message. The main character is obsessed with death and goes through this long series of struggles trying to maintain a sane life with minimal suffering, similarly to how this movie's theme is obsessed with progressing this character along these paths that are laid out, demonstrating a story that is melancholy & sad as all fuck. The movie is not just depressing, it's as if the movie itself wants to be depressing, and it wants to depress the audience by making the audience think about how depressing the movie is and wants to be. Depresseption. I'd like to see a movie like this one someday that is just as profound, but a bit more... optimistic? I know the problems we face make us think very hard about our lives, but I feel it's important for us to also think about the things that we strive to fulfill, and remind ourselves that the struggle is not empty and without any relief should we overcome these struggles. And even if some problems cannot be overcome, isn't it a tad important to remember that trying and failing is better than surrendering? Failing is a testament to you making the decision to fight back and try to overcome, despite the fact that you fill fail, and probably fail again. You give yourself meaningful incentive to exist even when failing to achieve what you want to achieve. How's that for an optimistic look on life? When you win, you win, and when you fail, you still win (in a way). I wish there was a movie that incorporated ideas like that in addition to the depressing ideas that dominate this film; I think it's important to express in art that while life is arduous and terrible, it is also relieving and beautiful. Then again, maybe such a movie exists and I'm just ignorant of it. Oh well I guess. But I'll stop rambling. I look forward to following the next parts of this review.

Personally, I'd rather see the tear drops as more of a reminder that not only the actors themselves actually experience the feelings required for acting to show the emotion in the first place (if that makes sense), but also the fact that sometimes we just have to cry. We might not feel like crying, and sometimes we literally can't. But the act itself garners some sort of strange catharsis within itself. But that's just me personally. Take it for what you will.

Really enjoying you take a longer form on your more serious dissection videos. I think it's important to note the shifting scale of Caden's production. At first, he seeks to tell the story of eight million people, and in turn the human condition, through a synecdoche of New York. However, as the play goes on, Caden becomes consistently concerned with how he is going to be represented, how he would act, who plays him etc. until it seems the play is seemingly solely about him. I believe what Kaufman is trying to say here is that while the artist may step up trying to tell the 'universal' story, they can only view the universe through their own lens, and therefore only tell their own story, having to hope they are 'human' enough for it to resonate to everyone.

The main character is one of the most tragic characters I have EVER seen, yet they seem so human. This movie is incredible.

Watched the film, last night, for the first time on a small TV and missed much of the detail yet, felt the existential loneliness so much I started crying. About to re-watch Synecdoche New York again when I discovered your analyses. Only fifteen seconds into part 3 felt inspired enough to write and thank you personally. Your love and insights into this film has deepened my own regard for what could be my favorite film of all time. Thank you so much.

I know this is kinda of silly but I was thinking about when you posted the first video. The time through then and now my life has changed drastically. I started working with my father again which I vowed I never would do but I fell on hard times and basically had no option, My girlfriend's father passed away which was devastating because she was very close with him, and we moved from our home of 6 years to come live with her mother. Life happens so fast then when you make a bookmark in it and look back you can really see just how much has happened. I guess Im just rambling but what else is life if not rambling. Thanks for the videos every upload is always a great part of my life :) DER HE IS

This movie fucks me up every time. Its not something you watch to "enjoy" its more just an experience. Its definitely the most accurate depiction of depression that I have ever seen. Among other things.

This review was 5 years ago and I've found it because you said "SYNECDOCHE NEW YORK GOODBYE!" on a 13 reasons why watch dub, which is when I looked up this movie, watched it, and began watching your review of it after. And in the review you say it's scary how almost a year passed since you started making it; now it's 5 years on. And I'm leaving this comment, and soon this comment will be a long time ago. And I'm also a writer. I wrote a few books, haven't published them yet. Sometimes I wonder if all my practice, years upon years of writing, will mean anything or if I'll die randomly without having published anything good. I feel like I've studied writing for years and barely scratched the surface. Writing is also hard. It's work. There is so much anxiety involved in it I often don't enjoy it. But it's meaningful. And this movie makes me wonder whether I'm spending years of my life creating to hope to get some sort of immortality but I'm not actually doing any living, instead I'm doing this writing that's tough and painful. But I have a hope that one day it'll become easy. One day I'll be good enough or something. It makes me feel like Caden. Anyway, forget it. Shouldn't have written it but I'd rather post it than not.

Caden reminds me a lot of Bill from "IT'S SUCH A BEAUTIFUL DAY". I'd like to see Charlie Kaufman and Don Hertzfeldt collaborate; they both seem to be masters at portraying the universal pains and struggles we endure to conform to society, and they're also pretty damn good at making seemingly innocuous scenes the most existentially horrifying things I've ever seen. Honestly, Synecdoche scared me more than any horror film I've ever watched, and IT'S SUCH A BEAUTIFUL DAY messed me up for weeks. I can't even imagine what their demon-child would look like.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman also played Willy Loman in a production of Death of A Salesman after this movie released. Incredible analysis. Well done.

One of my favourite details is that in the scene with Claire, Caden, and Ariel, he's cutting Ariel's dinner, but she's eating plain noodles. He's literally cutting noodles and not even feeding them to her. It just shows me how zoned out and uncaring he is towards his own daughter. Not uncaring in an intentionally mean way, but totally oblivious.

I'm just going to list the reasons I love this series. 1. I can see that this film truly resonates with you and that you clearly love it. 2. I feel some level of catharsis listening to a similar interpretation to mine. 3. You have taken your time developing this content in order to explain things clearly and give this film it's due diligence. 4. This brings back feelings I had about the film at the time aka that sweet, sweet nostalgia ;) I know I'm finding this three years after the fact and this comment is on the third video instead of the first or the final but, I still felt it necessary to say something nice. Thank you for this series and please, keep sharing what you love.

i have hope that Kaufman actually approaches you for this and says "thanks!"

Adele's address in Germany for her art gallery (seen on the box around 4.40) is Kampfstrasse which I'm pretty sure means fight or struggle street

I really like how the scene where he uses tear substitute and cries very dramatically to mask his health problem making it impossible to cry/salivate links back to the scene in the basement where he sees an unhealthy growth on his leg and cleans the entire place to draw his attention away from his health issues, not only showing how he uses unusual solutions to stop worrying about his health but also playing into the greater theme of life imitating art (imitating life imitating art etc. etc.) with the whole crying scene which was just him overracting and pretending to cry, so much so that he gets a pain in his chest and is faced with yet another health problem, showing how his intended ignorance of his health issues simply leads to more health issues and yet again reinstating that the end is built into the beginning. this film will fuck you up fam

Even though this movie is described as depressing, its got some really great jokes and funny moments. The part where the book ends is hilarious.

My uncle Ray was the exec producer for this, and my grandfather played the German doctor and it's so weird to see him pop up in your videos!!!!

I have to say, watching your reviews and pieces like this helped me appreciate movies on such a different level. I'm noticing things in movies that I've never seen before. You do so much an amazing work. Keep it up. Just know that you have changed someone's views on movies for life. :)

THE CHOSEN ONE HAS UPLOADED!!! thank god it seems like forever! But I know quality takes time.

I want to note that the old lady that gives Caden the keys also takes care of a suffering old man sitting beside her in the hallway, THE SAME MAN SUFFERING IN THE HOSPITAL BED.

Adam, I just wanted to say that I really appreciate the effort you put into your videos. I don't mind at all waiting so long for your videos since I rarely see other RU-vidrs working so meticulously on the quality of their contents!

Finding the unopened gift is one of the saddest moments I can remember in cinema.

Thankyou for doing this Adam, it means a lot to me, to hear someone else perspective on this fucking incredible film. It mustve taken a lot of work, so, forget what people are saying by not posting it sooner, its okay. You've done well, and i'm proud of all the effort you've made on this channel, and your other channels now too!!!!YourMovieSucksDOTorg

Seeing this video in my subscription box made me rock hard.

Adele name is Adele Lack Cotard. It sounds like: A delicate art, isn't it?

1/3 of a year has passed and it's just over half way in the movie. I wonder how many people who are following this series have died since then and will never see the end of it.

Sooooooo.... who was phone?

Just started formatting my PC and my phone told me you just uploaded part 3 of this. Just in time Adam. Thanks a lot.

I just spent the last hour watching these reviews. I loved them so much. Your analysis is fascinating, and your hard work clearly paid off. I would definitely pay to see more work like this. It is intense, in depth, intelligent, and just impressive. I'm not easy to please, but you just won me with this work. The insane amounts of work paid off. Well done, sir.

The way that you can articulate your thoughts in these types of movie reviews amazes me. I with I had the ability to do what you do, I always end up thinking things so in dept in my head but I can never put it into words. Good job on the reviews man.

Perhaps the person on the phone is Caden (as played by Ellen) saying: "Ellen, on the way to the funeral, it's his fathers" - a foreshadowing of a character receiving a note each day, telling them what happened to them that day, and how "Caden" narrates & directs "Ellen's" life towards its end.

RIP us finding out what the ending of the movie means

On my first viewing, I interpreted the shadow when Cadon got the call of his father’s death as being a metaphor for his father making his leave. Like at that moment he had his father in mind, and that was visualized as a slouching silhouette outside of their room, making his way out of his life

God damn, 80 videos in my sub box? This is the one I watch.

Isn't it implied that Caden modeled as Ellen in the description of the painting at Adele's gallery?

"a third of the year has already gone by since [part 1]" - not us here in 2022 wondering if this series is ever gonna be finished, we've been waiting so long

I have never been so excited to see a RU-vid video pop up on my feed before. You sir are a brilliant human being, and to me the premier voice in film review.

Fantastic, YMS. Absolutely fantastic. Thank you for all the hard work!

Rewatched Synecdoche again today, and I noticed that the film both begins and ends at 7:45. The alarm clock in the opening shot changes to 7:45 to open the film, and both the narration and a graffiti clock at the end of the film say that it is 7:45. I don't know the significance of this really, but maybe it gets at the idea that while time is slipping through our fingers, it is standing still, and we are moving along it. It is only our own subjectivity that allows us the assume that we are the center of everything, and time moves along us, while, in reality, it may be the opposite. just a thought.

“a third of a year has already gone by since then” I KNOW RIGHT THAT IS SO SCARY WOW

That idea of a director being on the phone and the theatre piece started before the film is straight genius

After I finished watching the 2nd part of these videos I bought the Blu-Ray. I remember seeing it when it came out and really liking it but your videos gave me a new appreciation for it. Great stuff. never change, never forget who you are. Don't make the same mistakes I did.

I finally got to watch this today. And now I finally went through your 3 parts of it. This movie is so incredibly meticulously done. I love your analysis and look forward to the rest of it. I'm probably going to have to watch the film a couple more times to form my own opinion on it.

0:19 Caden receives a Grant for A Theatre piece 3:25 (People are more than their Present.) _Art Imitates Life_ 7:24 You're almost unrecognizable Choices Change Life 9:58 Tear Substitute: Performance meeting Reality 10:55 Film IS LIFE, ITS NOT FICTION ITS REAL [And Dreamlike] 12:18 Jealousy, Disappointment 13:06 Something is missing 16:00 Ellen (Charlie thought he might have been better as a girl?) 18:14 Millison Weems as Ellen You become what you Play

this is, I think, your best video series. It's the first video of yours I remember finding. I'm almost ready to watch this movie again. It's a hard movie. Your massive analysis is comforting because it confirms other people think so, too.

Hope you realize that if you analyze any movie to this extent you'll find deeper meaning that even the director himself did not intend.

Wtf it's 4 A.M. why release this now? Well anyway I'm glad it's out! :D

I have been waiting so fucking long for this part! This is my favorite movie, and when you uploaded the first part saying it was your second favorite, I knew you were the guy to go to. WELL FUCKING PLAYED ADAM.

The fact that you bring up the idea that we are all playing characters as well as the themes of miscommunication is interesting, Adam. Harold Pinter, who was referenced at the beginning of the film, was a playwright who was best known for his absurdist play "The Birthday Party" which dealt with themes similar to those mentioned. Absurdist theatre, along with the themes mentioned previously, also deals with ideas such as characters being trapped in purgatory being either unable to die, unable to kill themselves or simply just waiting to die (Waiting for Godot is the best example of this). These plays are characterised with characters with a lack of soul who have no identity and change physical and social status and personality fluidly and the what they say has very little consequence on their actions, like in this film. Time in these plays are unmeasurable, where two hours can go for a whole day or in a whole second. I could talk on about the parallels between the genre of theatre and this film, but I just wanted to mention it, because I think that these themes being present in the film is no accident and this is how I've always seen this film; as an absurdist observation of an artist's life.

This movie is THE most accurate at portraying the passing of time. As one of those people who have been watching the review since part one, the time that has passed is truly terrifying.

You astound me with these, this will forever be my favourite film.

The phone call said I'm cool cat and I love you

Jeeesus christ, the point that you brought up about a third of the year having passed by kind of blew my mind.

6:07 the real deal of the movie is this. like why the fuck is he cutting spaghetti

Holy shit, this movie is unbelievable. I haven't heard of it till you made the episodes. Great stuff!

well turnes out part 3 was waiting for ME for 9 years

I feel like it might be about time I watched this movie if you're going to be spending so much time reviewing it.

I was finally able to see this film on Hulu and it broke my brain slightly but in a good way

Literally just discovered your channel and watched the first two parts and now the 3rd gets uploaded, awesome timing!

I very much appreciate how thorough this series has been. I fell in love with this movie the first time I watched it, and every subsequent viewing has left me with a new appreciation and deeper understanding of what's going on in the film, while also making it more and more obvious that I was seriously missing out on much of the complexity beneath the surface. While I don't agree with absolutely every point you've made, you have helped me peel back the many layers in one of my favorite movies and re-examine it in new ways. Subbing because I am very excited to see you continue this series, but after browsing some of your uploads, I'm also looking forward to hearing your thoughts on other movies. Cheers, can't wait for part 4.

I need to find this movie. Just the bit I saw of that scene where he talks to Hazel about their daughter had me pissed. Even knowing that it's an exaggeration or symbolic it just made me angry to see a woman call a child her project. I know too many women like that, minus the success.

the picknick scene is not only the memory of ellen but also in the Tv when when Caden was cleaning that Room with his Toothbrush. Meaning either he is Ellen or it really was a play all along

12:40 this scene emphasizes the point that people are indifferent to the suffering of others because Caden is having visible leg tremors and Hazel doesnt notice (I think its more likely that she pretends not to notice because she's tired of having her good mood brought down by Caden)

Having a casting call tomorrow night for someone to play me just incase I die before part 4.

Keep these up please! This has become my favorite movie (possibly of all time) and it makes my day when I see them uploaded!

Perfect upload time for people in the UK :D

stop spooking me adum !

Thanks. This (presumably) 5-6 parter's videos has put me into a good state of mind.

Part three has been online a whole month before I saw it?! I've been playing way too much WoW. Great job! I love this movie, and you pointed out a ton of things I didn't notice that make the movie a greater experience for me. Thanks!

I love your channel and your movie reviews. Also love that you don't abuse of ads on your reviews unlike some channels out there. Thanks!

Loved these parts and what a nice surprise on a terrible Thursday