Review of Broken Flowers (2005) by Justin M — 03 Aug 2009

The essential feeling I got from this movie is that there are no definite answers in life. Murray's character is searching for something, literally and figuratively but he can't quite find it, and in the end he goes through a lot of effort to achieve a slight shift.

The "mystery" is unimportant and ultimately meaningless. What is important is Murray's character's transition throughout the film. The scene where he speaks with what he believes to be his son is actually quite powerful.

But that doesn't make up for the very slow and labored setup. Its subtle almost to a fault. I don't know, there were parts I liked and parts I didn't. Jarmusch's choice of shots just bugged me at times.

I get he was trying to show a "journey" and that's why there are so many shots of Murray in cars, on planes, etc. But after a certain point its just beating a dead horse. Honestly I think this would have worked better as a 35 minute short.

I can get on board with the themes of the movie, but its a case of failed execution in my book.