I‘ve been seeing a lot of information flying around the net about Charlie Kaufman’s new film, his directorial debut, Synecdoche, New York. I’d seen a few photos and been intrigued because let’s face it, with a cast that includes Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Samantha Morton, Emily Watson, Michelle Williams, Dianne Wiest and Hope Davis, your bound to be doing something right. And it’s not like we’re talking about a guy with no film experience. Though this might indeed be his first time behind the director’s chair, Kaufman is no shy newcomer to Hollywood having written the fantastic scrips for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Adaptation. and Being John Malkovich.

So here was have a great cast with a talented writer, some interesting pictures and more interesting clips that have recently hit the web. As a whole, it all sounds great but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around this story. After reading various synopsis, I found this one, care of Peter over at /Film to be the most complete and the one that confused me the least. Peter gives us this:

Philip Seymour Hoffman as a theater director named Caden Cotard, whose life in Schenectady, New York is looking bleak. His wife Adele has left him to pursue her painting in Berlin, taking their young daughter Olive with her. A new relationship with the alluringly candid Hazel has prematurely run aground. And a mysterious condition is systematically shutting down each of his body’s autonomic functions. Worried about the transience of his life, he moves his theater company to a warehouse in New York City. He directs them in a celebration of the mundane, instructing each to live out their constructed lives in a growing mockup of the city outside.

Alright. So we have an idea of what to expect of the story which gives a bit more sense to the three clips that have been released. Worry not, the clips give nothing away but they provide an idea of what to expect. What has me really scratching my head is that along with this description, we must take into account the title of the film. No, it’s not really the name of a location in NY. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, synecdoche is:

A figure of speech by which a part is put for the whole (as fifty sail for fifty ships), the whole for a part (as society for high society), the species for the genus (as cutthroat for assassin), the genus for the species (as a creature for a man), or the name of the material for the thing made (as boards for stage).

Oi. It’s more fun to wrap my head around this video I found at Filmmaker Magazine but which was apparently posted by Mike Jones of Variety on how to pronounce that strange word:

All of Kaufman’s films have required multiple viewings from me and I have a feeling this one will be the same but from everything I’ve read and seen so far, I’m very excited to see what he has in store for us. At the moment, Synecdoche, New York does not have a release date though it will play in Cannes later this week. In the meantime, be sure to check out the cool clips below.

Clips tucked under the seat!

Synecdoche Clip 1

Synecdoche Clip 2

Synecdoche Clip 3