Paterson (2016)
Directed by Jim Jarmusch
A week in the life of Paterson, a poet bus driver, and his wife Laura, a very creative artist, who live in Paterson, New Jersey, hometown of many famous poets and artists.
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The couple goes out once together, to see the 1932 Island of Lost Souls, after which Paterson compares Laura to the feral, fractured-English-speaking Panther Woman.
The weekend feels no different, except when the couple go to a movie: an old horror flick, “Island of Lost Souls” (1932), which is pretty much the opposite of their domestic routine.
Here it feels like a tic left over from the 20th century — something he all but acknowledges when Paterson and Laura go out to see the 1932 “Island of Lost Souls” at a movie theater.
One night, Paterson and Laura go to the movies to see 1932’s “Island of Lost Souls.”
The jangle of the digital present is all but absent here; even when Paterson and Laura go to the movies, it's a revival of the 1932 horror classic Island of Lost Souls.
At one point, Paterson and Laura go to a local cinema to watch Charles Laughton in Island of Lost Souls , but you can’t really see why movies would matter in these people’s lives.
Having captured the strange suburbia within Lynch’s Blue Velvet, Elmes assists in highlighting the poetic beauty Paterson from Paterson sees within his hometown, which permits Paterson to soak up inspiration from the town and its people for his own poetry.
Frederick Elmes, who previously shot things as stylistically varied as Blue Velvet and The Ice Storm, sticks to muted, warmer tones, recalling faded family snapshots from the 1970s.
The stunning camerawork and expressive lighting by Frederick Elmes (Blue Velvet; River’s Edge; Synecdoche, New York) add further dimensions to Jarmusch’s storytelling, and the original music written and performed by Carter Logan, Sqürl, and Jarmusch lend Paterson a noodling quality that provides an aural equivalent to the reworking of lines of verse.
Lensed with a painter's eye by the great Frederick Elmes ("Blue Velvet"), the movie conveys an aura of Blakean mysticism through such homely sources as an 8-by-10 mugshot of Lou Costello; the connections to previous Jarmusch releases — Masatoshi Nagase, the Carl Perkins fan of the made-in-Memphis "Mystery Train," returns as a tourist — posit the film as the latest chapter in a bemused serial epic that is Knausgårdian in its appreciation of life's epiphanies and humiliations.
The cinematography by Frederic Elmes, who started out doing “Eraserhead” with David Lynch and has partnered with Jarmusch on several projects, captures the town in somber, reflective ways that mirror Paterson’s words and Williams’ observations.
It’s a Groundhog Day-like existence, numbing and constricted, but Jarmusch makes it seem as if Paterson is his very own garden of Eden.
The film follows Paterson for seven days, and it’s almost like a crazy-mirror version of “Groundhog Day” in which every morning is a pleasure, an act of quiet satisfaction to get up at the same time, go to the same job, jot poems in the same notebook, make small talk with the same people, and go home to the same beloved wife to see what new interior design project or dubious recipe she will have embarked on today.
Imagine a version of “Groundhog Day” with Bill Murray’s prickly frustration replaced by Driver’s soulful reserve, and you’re halfway there.
I’m not the first to notice this film’s formal resemblance to Groundhog Day (Variety’s Justin Chang got there first ).
I think Jarmusch has actually remade “Groundhog Day” as a work of spiritual ecstasy.
Whether it’s Mystery Train , Dead Man, Ghost Dog , The Limits of Control or Only Lovers Left Alive , they’re movies populated by self-contained, romantic (but rarely carnal) loners who inhabit strangely deserted and melancholy landscapes.
Since Stranger than Paradise, the 1984 comedy that gestured half-heartedly in the direction of road movie and buddy movie without committing to either, his work (including the western Dead Man and the vampire film Only Lovers Left Alive) has occupied a kind of negative space, defined more by what it isn’t than by what it is.
His characters are often loners ( Only Lovers Left Alive ), reprobates (Down by Law) or more often than not, misanthropes (Broken Flowers and Stranger than Paradise).
In his best work (“Stranger Than Paradise,” “Mystery Train,” the recent “Only Lovers Left Alive”), that undead Jarmusch pace was organic.
Anticipation was high for Jim Jarmusch‘s follow up to Only Lovers Left Alive, and though it feels very different than any of the auteur’s previous films, Paterson does not disappoint.
They have always operated on their own laconic timeline, whether John Lurie’s beat slacker from Stranger Than Paradise, Bill Murray’s baffled depressive from Broken Flowers or the vampire beauties of Only Lovers Left Alive.
Since Stranger than Paradise, the 1984 comedy that gestured half-heartedly in the direction of road movie and buddy movie without committing to either, his work (including the western Dead Man and the vampire film Only Lovers Left Alive) has occupied a kind of negative space, defined more by what it isn’t than by what it is.
Paterson is the 12th feature from indie filmmaker Jim Jarmusch (Broken Flowers, Stranger Than Paradise and Dead Man) and takes his minimalist style to another level.
His characters are often loners ( Only Lovers Left Alive ), reprobates (Down by Law) or more often than not, misanthropes (Broken Flowers and Stranger than Paradise).
In his best work (“Stranger Than Paradise,” “Mystery Train,” the recent “Only Lovers Left Alive”), that undead Jarmusch pace was organic.
They have always operated on their own laconic timeline, whether John Lurie’s beat slacker from Stranger Than Paradise, Bill Murray’s baffled depressive from Broken Flowers or the vampire beauties of Only Lovers Left Alive.
His trademark is his volatility, but Paterson doesn’t have a confrontational bone in his body; here, Driver taps into the aimless vibe embodied by John Lurie in Stranger Than Paradise, minus the coolness.
Whether it’s Mystery Train , Dead Man, Ghost Dog , The Limits of Control or Only Lovers Left Alive , they’re movies populated by self-contained, romantic (but rarely carnal) loners who inhabit strangely deserted and melancholy landscapes.
In his best work (“Stranger Than Paradise,” “Mystery Train,” the recent “Only Lovers Left Alive”), that undead Jarmusch pace was organic.
But unlike the strictly retro-cool vibe that some of Jarmusch’s earlier work has trafficked in (Mystery Train), this time out he’s nodding to a notion of 20th-century working-class pride, whether it’s the metal lunch pail that Paterson carries with him, or the faded brick factory walls he passes on his daily walk, or the near-utter lack of modern media.
And, towards the end of the film, a familiar face from Mystery Train appears to impart some words of wisdom to our bereft protagonist.
It’s also infused with the wry absurdity, deceptively modest aesthetics and rich cultural references that have marked Jarmusch’s work since he emerged as an early prince of indie film with “Stranger Than Paradise,” “Down by Law” and “Mystery Train” in the 1980s.
When he moved into colour with Mystery Train and Night on Earth, he brought something of William Eggleston ’s unnerving vision to the screen.
His characters are often loners ( Only Lovers Left Alive ), reprobates (Down by Law) or more often than not, misanthropes (Broken Flowers and Stranger than Paradise).
For Jarmusch, the American scenester poet who made Dead Man and Down By Law , this feels like a high point: the profoundly unhurried slice-of-life he’s been working toward his entire career.
It’s also infused with the wry absurdity, deceptively modest aesthetics and rich cultural references that have marked Jarmusch’s work since he emerged as an early prince of indie film with “Stranger Than Paradise,” “Down by Law” and “Mystery Train” in the 1980s.
In his best movies (“ Only Lovers Left Alive ,” “Stranger Than Paradise,” “Down By Law”), Jarmusch also achieves a gentle, beautiful poetry that relies primarily on observation and curiosity and absurdist humor.
But other movies, like Down by Law, were built on the nearly musical jousting of urban raconteurs.
His quieter films — Stranger Than Paradise , Down by Law , Mystery Train , Dead Man , Ghost Dog , and Broken Flowers — tend to be better than his talkier ones, like Night on Earth, Coffee and Cigarettes , etc. (We will have to leave The Limits of Control up for debate.)
It’s a form Jarmusch has experimented with before than 25 years ago in Night on Earth, which tracked taxi rides on the same night across five cities around the globe.
His 1991 portmanteau picture Night On Earth featured five different taxi drivers in cities around the world, taking their passengers on night-time journeys.
You can see it in Jarmusch’s previous movies Night on Earth or Coffee and Cigarettes, where short conversations speak volumes about who these characters are.
When he moved into colour with Mystery Train and Night on Earth, he brought something of William Eggleston ’s unnerving vision to the screen.
His quieter films — Stranger Than Paradise , Down by Law , Mystery Train , Dead Man , Ghost Dog , and Broken Flowers — tend to be better than his talkier ones, like Night on Earth, Coffee and Cigarettes , etc. (We will have to leave The Limits of Control up for debate.)
Jim Jarmusch has been making movies for nearly four decades now—he was one of the faces of the American independent film movement long before most people were aware that such a thing even existed—and as a fan of his work, both his oddball genre explorations such as the trippy Western “Dead Man,” the martial arts-influences “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai” and the vampire riff “Only Lovers Left Alive,” and one-of-a-kind efforts as “Down by Law,” “Night on Earth” and “Broken Flowers,” I would go so far as to declaim him as one of the most exciting and consistently interesting cinematic talents of his time.
Whether it’s Mystery Train , Dead Man, Ghost Dog , The Limits of Control or Only Lovers Left Alive , they’re movies populated by self-contained, romantic (but rarely carnal) loners who inhabit strangely deserted and melancholy landscapes.
Since Stranger than Paradise, the 1984 comedy that gestured half-heartedly in the direction of road movie and buddy movie without committing to either, his work (including the western Dead Man and the vampire film Only Lovers Left Alive) has occupied a kind of negative space, defined more by what it isn’t than by what it is.
Paterson is the 12th feature from indie filmmaker Jim Jarmusch (Broken Flowers, Stranger Than Paradise and Dead Man) and takes his minimalist style to another level.
For Jarmusch, the American scenester poet who made Dead Man and Down By Law , this feels like a high point: the profoundly unhurried slice-of-life he’s been working toward his entire career.
If ever there was a movie that's destined to become contemplative comfort viewing, it's the new effort from the director of Dead Man, Coffee and Cigarettes and Only Lovers Left Alive.
Even when he dabbled in Westerns with Dead Man, or vampires with Only Lovers Left Alive, Jarmusch focused on languorous pauses and non-events, finding his drama and comedy in the tiny shifts of everyday life.
“Paterson” might be the most minimalist film Jarmusch has made, which says a lot considering he also made “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai” and “Dead Man” and “Coffee and Cigarettes.”
Jim Jarmusch has been making movies for nearly four decades now—he was one of the faces of the American independent film movement long before most people were aware that such a thing even existed—and as a fan of his work, both his oddball genre explorations such as the trippy Western “Dead Man,” the martial arts-influences “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai” and the vampire riff “Only Lovers Left Alive,” and one-of-a-kind efforts as “Down by Law,” “Night on Earth” and “Broken Flowers,” I would go so far as to declaim him as one of the most exciting and consistently interesting cinematic talents of his time.
You can see it in Jarmusch’s previous movies Night on Earth or Coffee and Cigarettes, where short conversations speak volumes about who these characters are.
If ever there was a movie that's destined to become contemplative comfort viewing, it's the new effort from the director of Dead Man, Coffee and Cigarettes and Only Lovers Left Alive.
“Paterson” might be the most minimalist film Jarmusch has made, which says a lot considering he also made “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai” and “Dead Man” and “Coffee and Cigarettes.”
His quieter films — Stranger Than Paradise , Down by Law , Mystery Train , Dead Man , Ghost Dog , and Broken Flowers — tend to be better than his talkier ones, like Night on Earth, Coffee and Cigarettes , etc. (We will have to leave The Limits of Control up for debate.)
Whatever its charms as a celebration of “the empty page,” of the pauses at the end of poetic phrases which allow the mind to wander into the poet’s head, or in this case — into films similar in tone and tenor — “Tree’s Lounge,” “Factotum,” “Henry Fool” — I was desperate for any hint of Jarmusch’s droll wit, for the humor of “Mystery Train,” “Night on Earth,” “Broken Flowers” or “Coffee and Cigarettes.”
The latest film by writer-director Jim Jarmusch (“Stranger by Paradise,” “Down by Law,” “Coffee and Cigarettes”) is about one week in the life of a bus driver named Paterson who lives in Paterson, New Jersey, with a wife he loves very much and a dog he doesn’t like very much.
Paterson is the 12th feature from indie filmmaker Jim Jarmusch (Broken Flowers, Stranger Than Paradise and Dead Man) and takes his minimalist style to another level.
His characters are often loners ( Only Lovers Left Alive ), reprobates (Down by Law) or more often than not, misanthropes (Broken Flowers and Stranger than Paradise).
They have always operated on their own laconic timeline, whether John Lurie’s beat slacker from Stranger Than Paradise, Bill Murray’s baffled depressive from Broken Flowers or the vampire beauties of Only Lovers Left Alive.
With Paterson, he’s finally back with what may be his most accessible film since Broken Flowers.
Por ello me sorprende gratamente que algunas veces me interese lo que cuenta, como la comedia Broken flowers o la negra y lírica Ghost dog.
In two briskly paced hours, Jarmusch (“Ghost Dog,” “Broken Flowers”) condenses a week in their lives, structuring it like a free-form poem without rhyme and sometimes reason, but always with enormous heart.
Whether it’s Mystery Train , Dead Man, Ghost Dog , The Limits of Control or Only Lovers Left Alive , they’re movies populated by self-contained, romantic (but rarely carnal) loners who inhabit strangely deserted and melancholy landscapes.
In Jarmusch's case, all you need to watch is his 2009 movie "The Limits of Control", which should have been named "The Limits of a Moviegoer's Patience".
The style is notably softer than his recent films “Only Lovers Left Alive” and “The Limits of Control.”
In his Village Voice review of Jim Jarmusch’s criminally under-appreciated The Limits of Control, J. Hoberman described the director as “a full-blown talent [who] erupts once a decade: Stranger than Paradise in the ’80s, Dead Man in the ’90s and The Limits of Control [in the ’00s].”
In 2009’s “ The Limits of Control ” he posited the imaginative realm as one in which an individual could not just escape political oppression but also effectively obliterate it.
His quieter films — Stranger Than Paradise , Down by Law , Mystery Train , Dead Man , Ghost Dog , and Broken Flowers — tend to be better than his talkier ones, like Night on Earth, Coffee and Cigarettes , etc. (We will have to leave The Limits of Control up for debate.)
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This is followed by a variety of bus passenger conversations overheard during Paterson’s shift (featuring the now-adolescent Moonrise Kingdom actors Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward), followed by his commute to a local bar while walking Laura’s disgruntled dog.
Whatever the real Paterson may be like, the fanciful city portrayed here suggests a shabbier, more racially diverse version of Woody Allen's imaginary Manhattan: a bohemian fairyland of farmer's markets and chess tournaments, where a cinema shows old horror films on Saturday nights, a little girl cites Emily Dickinson and a teenage couple – played by the leads from Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom – proves improbably well-versed in local history.
On the number 23 bus Paterson drives we meet a grown up Suzy and Sam (Kara Hayward and Jared Gilman) from Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom , as they discuss Italian-American anarchist Gaetano Bresci.
Paterson isn’t totally free of cameos or celebrity cachet; Method Man shows up for one scene, spitting rhythms at the laundromat as an aspiring emcee, and the film also quietly arranges a Moonrise Kingdom reunion, as a kind of communion with a kindred spirit of American deadpan.
Oh, and if you’re wondering what happened to Sam and Suzy (Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward) after ” Moonrise Kingdom ” ended, well, I can happily confirm that they are still together and attending college in Paterson, NJ, where they ride the bus and talk knowledgeably about late-1800s Italian-American anarchist leader, and sometime Paterson resident, Gaetano Bresci.
It contains many little treats, from a tribute to Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom to a tribute to the Wu Tang-Clan.
The presence of the name Esteban echoes with “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou,” and two of Paterson’s voluble passengers, students and self-proclaimed anarchists, are played by Kara Hayward and Jared Gilman, the stars of Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom.”
Farahani is quite adorable as Laura in a similar way as Maria de Medeiros was in Pulp Fiction, in that her precocious nature makes it hard to get angry about her sometimes selfish and erratic behavior.(Coincidentally…
That’s especially so at Paterson’s home, where his partner and muse Laura (Golshifteh Farahani, channeling the playfully alluring foreign ingenue that Maria de Medeiros brought so vivaciously to life as Butch’s girlfriend Fabienne in “Pulp Fiction”) undertakes a different art project each day, mostly turning whatever it is she touches (curtains, cupcakes or a random wall in the small ranch home) into a black-and-white tiled mosaic, and the racially integrated bar where a pantheon of Paterson’s famous are hung as photos above the till.
Paterson and Laura together remind a bit of the relationship between Butch and Fabienne in Pulp Fiction --or, at least, Laura reminds me a great deal of Fabienne.
Paterson at times recalls Richard Linklater’s Slacker, another story about characters casually going about their day.
Of course, most of this smacks of wish-fulfilment – and the idea of the hidden village within the city recalls Paul Auster and Wayne Wang’s Smoke – but it’s a timely antidote to the kind of pumped up misery that is usually paraded as authenticity itself (see American Honey).
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Driver, who is most famous now for playing Star Wars villain Kylo Ren, is ideally cast as a figure who seems slightly out of step with the digital age (he refuses to even back up his notebook of poems).
En términos narrativos, la película cuenta la historia de un tal Paterson (Adam Driver, en una performance muy contenida en relación a lo que hace en GIRLS o STAR WARS) que vive en la ciudad de Paterson, New Jersey, cuna del poeta William Carlos Williams.
El actor de la serie Girls y, sí, el Kylo Ren de la última Star Wars interpreta a un chofer que vive con su bienintencionada y servicial novia Laura (la iraní Golshifteh Farahani), una chica que se la pasa diseñando cosas en blanco y negro y cocinando cupcakes, y con un bulldog que es protagonista fundamental de la historia.
It’s as much of a fantasy as Jean Cocteau’s “ Orpheus ,” another great film about a poet that was at least partially set in the “real” contemporary world.