Review of Broken Flowers (2005) by Ivan D — 18 May 2010

Bill Murray's talent of giving a character a sense of internal turmoil physically shown in his subtle facial expressions was used to masterful effect in "Lost in Translation". And here in Jim Jarmusch's equally great "Broken Flowers", Murray used this distinct trait into more heightened emotional implosions, all displayed in his weary eyes.

The pink color motif recurring throughout the film was the eponymous "Broken Flowers". If one would notice, fragments of the said color were scattered around the film, and though its significance would not be much noticed in a straightforward viewing of the film, these color fragments represent Don Johnston's(Murray) life's ultimate harmony, and this can be accomplished by his main goal of finding his supposed son.

All the women in his past that he has met in his spontaneous road trip has some of those pink shades, but none of them were completely enshrouded by the said color, because his(Johnston) search wasn't complete, and his goal still in tatters.

In the end, in one of the film's most poignant scenes, he helplessly chases a kid who he believes to be his own, but was unsuccessful. And the main point of the film came from this very moment with a sudden punch: Johnston's journey wasn't about the goal after all, it was the reflective in-between encounters, and the whole new way it has changed his perception of his existence.

But what we all see in the final shot was Don Johnston's confused, melancholic face, with the "could have would have should have" thing running in his mind.