I Just finished watching Synecdoche, New York, Charlie Kaufmans directing debut. The story (in its bear essence as everything else remains elusive) revolves around a broken theater directory played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, who, left by his wife and daughter, believes to have been struck by some anonymous neurological diseases that threatens to kill him and is granted with a lump sum of money by some foundation, sets out to construct the ultimate theatrical masterpiece. He constructs a life-sized replica of New York in an over sized warehouse at the edge of town. Here, he constructs a mirror image of his own sad life. While I was expecting a strange story line, this movie left me in constant puzzlement; much like standing between two mirrors and trying to figure out where the imagery starts. In many ways, watching “Synecdoche, New York” was like watching a David Lynch movie (of which I dislike most). While I can say what it is about, and the bottom line emotional taint of the picture is there, the details are fuzzy. I immediately assumed that watching it a second time would help me figure out the plots fine print. Unfortunately, it is a bit of an odyssey to watch and is strangely disturbing… like waking up after heavy dreams without knowing what they were about. In essence, I can recommend the picture (in particular if you like the writings of Charlie Kaufman). It is filled with oddities, has a fair share of good acting, nice cinematography and a gloomy, slow-paced soundtrack that makes your mouth go dry. The soundtrack is by Jon Brion (Magnolia, Internal Sunshine, Punch Drunk Love, …), and I liked it enough to buy a copy. While mostly instrumental and certainly not suitable for every occasion, I wrote these lines with a glass of wine to the one, a laptop to the other and its smooth jazzy sounds seeping from the sound system. Attached is a recurring theme entitled “Something you can’t return to”… go figure.