Opening Statement

Have you ever wanted to be someone else? What if I told you that for one hour and fifty-three minutes, you could? No, I’m afraid you can’t choose who you will be, but by simply watching the film Being John Malkovich, you can at least become a struggling artist, a pet shop worker, a sexy office drone, and even John Malkovich …. you know, the actor? He was in lots of things ... that jewel thief movie, for example – by Zachary Davis, May 15, 2017

Charlie & Spike

Two great tastes that taste great together: Kaufman’s concepts and characters, Jonze’s visual style, their shared sense of humor. These two artists came together to make only two feature films together, but when those films are Being John Malkovich and Adaptation. that is certainly notable – by Aaron Pinkston, May 16, 2017

The Artist's Abyss

Friedrich Nietzsche was the one who referred to the hidden recesses of the self as an abyss, but he actually meant it in a relatively optimistic light; Kaufman’s abyss is rather more like the unconscious according to Sigmund Freud. When you stare into Freud’s abyss, what stares back at you is not the pure potential for creation and becoming, but all the impulses that would land you in an insane asylum – by Patrick Brown, May 17, 2017

Scenessential: Dance of Despair and Disillusionment

Soon it evolves into a Martha Graham-like assemblage of leaps, dramatic flingings of the arms, and an expert backflip. It’s funny and startling to see John Malkovich [and his professional surrogate] perform such a ridiculous, yet aesthetically polished, dance. And if it doesn’t quite represent an imagined thesis of the film, it certainly represents the complex swirl of identity, consciousness, and creativity that informs it – by Maddie Freeman, May 18, 2017

Filmography: Spike Jonze Music Videos

Spike Jonze did not start off his filmmaking career in film school or on the indie circuit—he started off shooting videos of skateboarders doing tricks and getting into trouble. Moving up and down the streets of Los Angeles, Jonze made his living photographing kids for Dirt magazine before being serendipitously invited to shoot some skateboarding footage for a Sonic Youth video – by Zachary Davis, May 18, 2017

Related Review: Anomalisa

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a review of a Charlie Kaufman film should at some point contain the phrase, “Only Charlie Kaufman.” He is that singular, his voice that unique, his particular depiction of the human condition at once universally understood and confoundingly absurd – by Sarah Gorr, May 19, 2017