I do not particularly like this movie. The craft in it, cinematography, camera placement, the actual direction is bad or at best functional. But that isn't why people purport to like Kaufman, so whatever.
The themes of the movie are what I see supported the most as why this is good and again, I see philosophically nothing of interest or comment. Nihilism is not a conclusion that needs a movie to explicate it. I realize however that a lot of /tv/ and 4chan in general are misanthropic and nihilistic so I'm guessing this is why it resonates so well with this group. In general though, the difference between people who think the movie is deep and those who don't, I think does come down to this point. If you think nihilism is deep, you think this movie is.
The last thing I want to touch on in specific is that unweildy metanarrative that Kaufman loves to do. Having a metanarrative is not really a damnable offense in general but the problem with Kaufman's metanarratives are that he seems to be fascinated by infinite recursion and having that narrative fold in upon itself which he has done throughout multiple movies with limited success because he never really directs it at anything. It doesn't thematically link to anything which is the real problem because he devotes a good third to half of both this film and Adaptation to exploring these meta implications but It all simply distracts from what his actual points end up being.
Unfortunately for him, he doesn't really have much of interest to say however (at least in my opinion). If you want a strictly better version of adaptation, watch the player by Altman, and if you want a strictly better Synechdoche, watch The Sacrifice by Tarkovsky if you want the philosophical aspect or Opening Night by Cassavetes for the use of a metanarrative.
>>67076015
Yourpostsucks.org
>>67076062
Adam, pls go.
Where's the subscribe button?
>>67076015
I've only seen it once. I think it's deep and worth another look. While I don't like nihilism I accept it, not as deep, just accurate. We have to make our meaning in life since deferring to authority makes us dependent on them and only improves their judging and predicting abilities.
What I liked about it was the absurdity theme about the contracts we make with ourselves, we stick to the outcome despite our morphing motivations because dedication is praised most highly. So what we dedicate ourselves to is important but the reasons will be dislodged by fate in ways we can't predict.
Is anomalisa good?
>>67076370
I have given it several looks. I still find it wanting.
I don't know what it is about this movie in particular. I think it has to do with the obvious scale of ambition that Kaufman has and how that ambition presents itself in a movie that should/would thematically be better served as a much more quiet small scale reflection. I just don't think nihilism and absurdism require a metanarrative to be explicated.
I used to like this movie but I think I've just outgrown it. It's one of those that feels deep when you first see it especially if you're young.
Where's the unsubscribe button?
It's cute you've seen Cassavetes though, our lil guy's growing up.
It's a shitty film enjoyed by weepy teenage hipsters. It's basically a litmus test for the "huurrrrr anyone but Trump" cuck mindset.
>>67077567
What do you get out of being dismissive? A fleeting sense of superiority through your refusal to engage? I hope it serves you well.
>>67076015
Wasn't that bad.
>>67079053
nice image nerd
>If you think nihilism is deep, you think this movie is.
I don't think it's nihilism. At the end he confesses maybe life would have been easier if he was a girl (lol) and the scene with the pastor giving an impassioned speech on inaction in life? I think he had hope in the later parts which made it even harsher that his girlfriend was attracted to the guy playing Caden instead of Caden himself.
I don't get what the reviews say when they it was pretentious. I thought it was a sweet movie but it's been awhile since I've seen it.
I didn't find it particularly about nihilism.
It is about insecurities, as a person and an artist. It is about disconnection, romantic and familial. It is about struggle throughout life, as a man and artist. It is deep in many ways regarding these things, and while it is of no importance that you didn't like the movie, simply dismissing it as a statement on nihilism (again, which it did not say to me personally) is simplistic and far too reductive to suggest you even approached it for what it really is as a personal expression rather than just an entry for criticism.
>>67079466
I do get that he depicts his own neurosis but I think you're giving it a little too much credit in that I believe he fundamentally fails to say anything about those neuroses other than that it would be better for him not to have them. This is a case where I believe that the author can identify his problems, has a lot of angst related to those problems and wishes he had a solution but he doesn't and is therefore fundamentally unable to meaningfully address them. He's only able to depict and in my opinion, I don't believe that's enough.
Any way you cut it, the film does appear to me to have an overarching sense of nihilism in the "life sucks and there's nothing I can do about it but complain" way and I find that pretty banal.
>>67077412
This t b h, as the times goes by I find this movie more and more 'childish' even though I loved it when I first watched it
>>67076015
Fuck you
>>67076385
It's okay but not life changing or anything. But gimmicky.
>>67081128
But his own neuroses as depicted are very widely relatable and so the telling of them offers something to a very wide audience, be it lessons, cautionary tales, validation, commiserating, etc.
Also, realistically not everything in life has an attainable or discernible solution and I find it important for there to be a movie/story/any narrative in which they don't offer some shallow fix-all for those problems. So you may not think it's enough for a movie to not wrap everything up with a bow, but I appreciate it from time to time to say the least. I suspect you'd say "well there's your nihilism", but while you can certainly take some elements of it that is not the totality of it imo and I'd find it much closer to realism (albeit mixed with the absurd in this movie). The fact that such strong cases could be made for either also underlines how rich the movie really has, and how there actually is a depth to it despite your argument.
