Synonymes

Nadav Lapid's Synonyms was about his inner conflicts with the very idea of nationalism...

Nadiv's film forgoes an overarching narrative structure, which - depending on your patience with such things - is either exhilarating or exasperating. I found it to be the former, in no small part because newcomer Tom Mercier is absolutely riveting.

It's all very deep. Except, you know, not really.

As stiff-neck storytelling goes, this is pretty damn impressive.

What makes "Synonyms" so compelling is how it explores the theme of identity through a lens of searing self-reflection.

The movie... is antic, poetic, funny, and alarming in equal measure - a real ride, although where the ride is taking both its hero and the audience is always in question.

In a world where the struggle for identity is a universal experience, Synonyms serves as a poignant reminder that the quest for self-discovery is not a linear or painless process

I was fine for a stretch, less so as Synonyms kept working itself into a lather around a character whose behavior increasingly comes off not as symbolic of a certain rage but merely annoying...

Nadav Lapid is a vital cinematic voice. If he can bring his exploration of theme more in line with his technical skill as a filmmaker, he’s going to make a masterpiece. But “Synonyms” isn’t it.

I'm not sure what exactly Lapid is going for here-though driving us a little crazy may be part of it-but his movie isn't just a stunt, it is a work of art.