Synonyms

Synonyms

  • Director: Nadav Lapid
  • Writer: Nadav Lapid,Haim Lapid
  • Countries of origin: France, Israel, Germany
  • Language: French, Hebrew, English
  • Release date: October 25, 2019
  • Sound mix: Dolby Digital
  • Aspect ratio: 2.35 : 1
  • Also known as: Synonymes
  • "Synonyms" is a feature film directed by Nadav Lapid and starring Tom Mercier , Quentin Dormar, and Louise Schevilot, which premiered on February 13, 2019 at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival in Germany.
    The film tells the story of an Israeli man, Joav, who came to Paris to escape from the violent and oppressive environment of Israel. With the help of two friends, he went from penniless to settled life   .

    Details

    • Release date October 25, 2019
    • Filming locations Paris, France
    • Production companies SBS Films, Pie Films, Arte France Cinéma

    Box office

    Gross US & Canada

    $206,003

    Opening weekend US & Canada

    $17,891

    Gross worldwide

    $501,223

    Movie reviews

     ( 52 ) Add reviews

    • By Angie 2022-04-22 07:01:54

      Escape is not shameful, but rebirth requires not only courage but also wisdom

      Good movies always give the audience a long aftertaste and deep thinking, and the French film "Synonym" definitely belongs to this category. I don't want to go to anti-Semitic or other overly political ideas. I feel that such vivid, complex and human-changing films are incomparable to those political films that are clearly one-sided and blindly provocative.

      1. It is not shameful to escape, but re-survival requires not only courage but also wisdom. The hero goes to...

    • By Anibal 2022-04-22 07:01:54

      bathtub and yellow coat

      Yova lying naked in the bathtub was found by Elime and Caroline early in the morning. He was reawakened in bed, waiting for a journey of integration, or about to face a new life and "learn to be a man" again.

      At the beginning of the film, the naked Yova looks like a newborn baby, naked, lying in a container. The bathtub is like a uterus, and the little warm water left is like residual amniotic fluid, supplying insignificant "nutrients". This huge baby seems to have experienced...

    • By Hayden 2022-04-22 07:01:54

      Flows between reflection and critique of Jewish traditional culture and Western values

      The Berlin Film Festival came to a close last weekend with the Golden Bear going to Israeli director Nadav Lapid's "Synonyms." Although the film received polarized reviews after its premiere, it still ranked first in the competition unit with the highest score (3 points) in the daily magazine. After watching his "Police" many years ago, I felt that he is the new hope of Asian directors. Now it may be slightly changed. It should be the new hope of European film directors, which is...

    • By Theresa 2022-04-21 09:03:44

      Best "Refugee" Movie of the Year! The beauty of Paris is charity to outsiders

      If Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" rejected the "occupation" of Paris by outsiders in time, then "Synonymes" , winner of the Berlin Film Festival's Golden Bear , completely expelled immigrants in space entry.

      "Synonyms" tells the story of Yoyaf, a young man from Israel, who left his hometown and went to Paris, France, hoping to...

    • By Jordan 2022-04-21 09:03:44

      freedom relative

      What the male protagonist yearns for is that free Paris, the romantic and fashionable capital that all of us envy, but the difference between the male protagonist and us may be that he was an Israeli and a Jew before. Immersed in the environment he wanted to flee from, elitism, absolute obedience... This is evident from his previous military experience, because he was in a state of rebellion, so he wanted to flee, flee his country. And when he found out that the Paris he dreamed of being...

    User comments

      ( 72 ) Add comments

    • By Gaetano 2023-09-27 23:42:43

      An Israeli soldier flees to Paris and decides to turn his back on his country and never speak Hebrew again. He learns French voraciously, telling his past in written, poetic and bizarre French far above the demands of everyday life, and the strings of synonyms he has learned from the dictionary are like bullets shooting at his identity history. The narration is extremely unpredictable, the performance is very physical, different photography styles, and various framing options have contributed...

    • By Zackary 2023-09-23 19:45:01

      not good looking! I don't know what to say later, is it not the commonplace identity and immigration issues. There are many bright spots, such as the different colors of different rooms in the opening scene and even the cut shots at different times. I like a few bursts of music. For example, when the heroine turned on and off the lights when the male 1 and the male 2 were listening to the song together, the camera lens also followed. Vigorous rocking up and down. Every time the whole scene is...

    • By Elda 2023-09-19 21:22:20

      9 points. The development of the film and the violent shaking of the camera lens are as abrupt and unnatural as the implied character of the male protagonist. Does it make sense? The performance of the male protagonist in the concert was really unexpected. Is there enough and natural foreshadowing ahead? I like the ending, the metaphors are obvious. Seemingly close like synonyms, they may still be turned away at any time. As an outsider and refugee, the kindness he received in France stemmed...

    • By Josiane 2023-09-19 19:26:22

      8.3 Rapid must not know that there is an idiom in China called "Handan toddlers". The camera is still playful, and the concept of synonyms has expanded from vocabulary to human nature and even society. It is very powerful and helpless, and it is quite social allegory. However, I feel that the change in the second half is still a bit hasty, and I can't find a point of...

    • By Dominic 2023-09-12 14:28:13

      Shadow 20320: There has always been a...

    Casting

    Director Nadav Lapid did not take shortcuts to find bilingual French actors to pretend to accent, but translated the script into Hebrew and found people in Israel who could not speak French but were willing to learn. That's how he discovered Tom Mercier, who was still in drama school at the time. Messier's father was Jewish from southwestern France, but his parents were separated when he was very young. He was raised by his mother who...
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    Evaluation action

    Synonyms, an emotionally perverted, alienating film, undermines the conventional viewing experience with its unbalanced narrative pacing and absurd dialogue, making it somewhat experimental in a way that is not acceptable to everyone. Director Nadav Lapid explained his understanding of immigration issues through language in the film. The film’s dialogue bears the legacy of absurdist drama—distancing interactions, deadpan narration, and...
    more about Synonyms Evaluation action

    Movie quotes

    • Emile: The slaps we get from our parents

    • Emile: He says giving up your language kills part of yourself.

    • Emile: My love, marrying is faster than fucking.