Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Synecdoche, New York

Thora Burch in Ghost World
Thora Burch in Ghost World

Stana Goes to the Movies


I am a big film fan (maybe too big). I have over 1300 films on DVD and probably 300 or more films on videotapes that I have not upgraded to DVD yet.

Synecdoche, New York is one film I have on DVD. I added it to my collection because it looked like an unusual film and it starred one of my favorite actors, Philip Seymour Hoffman.

The film was weird and I was disappointed. I assumed I would never watch the DVD again. That is, until I received an e-mail from Gwen today.

Gwen wrote, “I saw this film yesterday and it was really weird in many ways. The strangest being that at the end of the film, the main character, a man, takes on the persona of a woman, called Ellen. She’s a cleaning lady, so he cleans. And his role is taken by a woman. No male to female cross dressing involved. But there's a definite gender bluring going on, that you don't often see in mainstream films.”

I totally missed it. My guess is that the film was so weird that I tuned out mentally by the time the transgender scene(s) occurred. So, I guess I will be watching Synecdoche, New York again real soon now.

A film I can watch again and again is Ghost World, which I happened to catch on the dish last night. It is another unusual film (based on a comic book) and stars another of my favorite actors, Steve Buscemi. It also includes a great performance by Thora Birch, who plays the female lead in the film.

There is nothing transgender in the film, but it is definitely worth watching if you have never seen it.




Source: Venus
Wearing Venus




Bernardo Letro
Bernardo Letro

3 comments:

  1. I'm in full agreement on Ghost World. Interesting that when it was first on cable they gave it 2-3 stars. But over time and probably a second (or more) viewing it's become 4 stars, and well deserving. Thora Birch was so good!

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  2. Dear Stana,

    A couple films I re-watch periodically are HAROLD AND MAUDE and MEMENTO. Each is great. The protagonist star of MEMENTO is Aussie actor Guy Pearce, who is terrific in any film he’s in. He was the youngest Drag Queen in PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT. Among his other films are LA CONFIDENTIAL, PROMETHEUS, and it’s sequel, ALIEN: COVENANT.

    Love,

    Sheila.

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  3. There is not nothing transgender about the film, the whole film is actually a perfect film about the transgender experience. It's only that the viewer, just like the hopeless, dull and unsympathetic protagonist has to go until the very end and lose all hope in order to understand this fundamental truth about herself. Watch it again.

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