Batman as Birdman does a Swan dive

I didn't expect the film Birdman, which garnered a handful of Oscar nominations, to remind me of Black Swan, one of my favorite films.  In addition to the obvious animal parallels...both are dark films with intense acting and characters. You are thrust, without warning, out of your comfort zone into the their environments. Both main characters "evolve" and relate to their animal identity.  Their animals push, help, free or destroy them, depending on your perspective.  And both characters are tortured souls struggling to rise above.  Dare I say, to fly...(please keep reading, I apologize for the paltry, poultry metaphors).

Each film pursues the idea of art and perfection; the concept of self vs. how others see you, or if either perception is valid.  Does it matter what others think of us, or, if we don't care? (gasp!) The Unbelievable Virtue of Ignorance perhaps? But Birdman is still very much of the earth.  Dirtily honest and direct, emotionally-gutted lines make you feel the actors themselves were compelled (sans-script) to speak those words.

Movies like this investigate --and if not reconcile, then finalize-- damaged relationships.  They make us wonder crazy things like "do we have to lose our minds in order to gain clarity and move forward?" Do we have to break our current reality in order to evolve, albeit through pain and suffering: well, gee, that's an ancient theme...(enter King Lear and literary posse).
And does talent really matter if we're not good people?  If we can't have healthy relationships with ourselves and those closest to us, then does it matter if critics, the head of a company or an audience value us?  Are they worth seducing or convincing?

Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) and Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman), respectively and literally, go over the edge in pursuit of self-worth, acknowledgment and identity.  Through their characters, you hear mysterious voices and see the impossible (is that really happening?). But their fears and frustrations are very solid and real.

I won't give it all away--the endings are different: one more uplifting than the other (pun intended).

The funny thing is that I've felt compelled to watch the trance-like Black Swan many, many times, while with Birdman...I "get it." I feel satiated, with no need for a refill. That's not a bad thing at all.  It's like reading a zen koan: a light bulb flashes in your head, you nod and chuckle to yourself, then go on with your day.

Birdman http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2562232/ is an experience, that, once it's over,  you feel what is meant to be felt, despite some things left hanging. But you know they belong in suspension.  It's part of the film;s vibe.  If you've seen it, you know what I mean by the beatnik, drumbeat, zen energy--in direct contrast with the crammed dirty streets and flashing lights of the theatre district amok with middle American tourists and hard, cynical New Yorkers.


Now, if you've seen both films, I'd love to hear what you have to say.
Or if you've seen one but not the other.  
.....Or, if you've seen neither and want a recommendation. 
............Or, if you disagree with any of my armchair psychologist views.

Or maybe you're going to go write in your journal of the sudden, uncontrollable urge to set your inner chicken free?