I saw Synecdoche, New York again. I saw it once before in 2015 and called it my favorite movie. Starting in my early teens, my answer has been Ratatouille (most of the time) or Synecdoche (a year).

I still don’t have a better answer than those movies. I’m kind of adrift. I’m looking for something to make me feel the way I felt when I first saw Ratatouille, or when I kept coming back to it. It feels like there is room above my #1 pick for some other movie.

I’ve been watching a lot of movies for around 10 years, and it’s hard to keep track. I’m picking up pieces where they make sense. Maybe I am still the person who saw The Game 6 years ago, twice, and loved every second. Maybe I’ll watch it again and find out. Finding a movie that’s incredible once is hard enough, but one that holds up to repeated scrutiny is a true keeper.

So I’m on the other side of my second viewing of Synecdoche and wondering how different it was than my first. Knowing what’s coming changes things, even in movies without twists. Something like The Lion King I know front to back, and still am enthralled by. The shine is coming off Ratatouille a bit after TEN viewings, but that’s not a reasonable bar.

I think part of what I loved and love about Synecdoche was how unpredictable it was. I was sure it was a deep movie, rewarding the viewer for multiple watches (Primer, Play Time). Although it gives that impression, there’s not a secret second movie beneath the surface. You get great new context on the rewatch, but not getting the point of the movie the first time doesn’t mean it will make sense on the rewatch.

So my overall advice is to watch Synecdoche at least once, and hopefully be blown away.