Sinécdoque (Synecdoche, in English) is about the life of a girl. She has Polaroid photos from when she was 3 years old, and as she grows up, the number of pictures she takes also adds up. With each photo, a piece of her life is shown, and every one unveils a piece of her emotional coming-of-age story.
I found the story-telling in this film quite interesting, since the film progresses with a photo and a background narration for each picture. It’s amazing how we can see the girl mature into a 20-year-old woman with just a few snapshots in her life. Notably, her story is filled not just with cheerful memories, but also with pain, hurt, and sadness. It’s real, it’s heartfelt, and it’s achingly beautiful.
Do you also take photos to capture your precious memories? I do every so often. Also, while digital photos are easier to store and look at, there’s a certain nostalgia that hits me every time I touch and look over old sepia-tinted photographs.
(Sinécdoque is available on YouTube, with English subtitles available in closed captions. Click here for another growing up story, this time with a princess. Click here for a film about a little boy praying hard for something special. And click here for a feature-length film about a little boy bonding with his dad.)
Directed by Ignacio Rodó
