Review of Coffee and Cigarettes (1987) by Neil S — 30 Apr 2013

The battle rages on! This is the third or fourth Jarmusch film I 've watched lately and I must say it was quite an enjoyable one even though it just features people sitting around drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes. It is a series of vignettes stringed together into a film but still it manages to keep you interested in what is being said and done, in the slight expressions and uncomfortable pauses.

The movie kicks off with Steven Wright and Roberto Benigni in one of the funiest vignettes where they share a really crazy conversation about coffee popsicles among other stuff. In one point Benigni says that he doesn't understand anything at all! In the end Benigni ends up going to Steven's dentist appointment. Then the movie proceeds till the very end in cool and relaxed manner in the way that only Jarmusch knows how to keep a non plot movie going.

The acting is brilliant with most of the actors being quite remarkable, the expressions speak for miles. I think my favorites were Steve Coogan and Alfred Molina but that's not to say that Benigni, Wright, Pop, Waits, Blanchett, Gza, Rza, Bill Murray and Taylor Mead where far behind. It's great to see such a great cast come together to make such a simple movie that reminds us of film school excercises. That is the power of Jarmusch as an actor's director and he seizes the chance to make something memorable.

The direction of the film is simple, as you would expect, but Jarmusch manages to create a rythm that serves the movie big time in the way he structures his shots. Also the order in which the vignettes are presented adds to the rythm of the movie. Jarmusch knows his weak ones and he knows where to put them, he places his strong ones in strategic places. The movie starts funny and ends simply poetic.

My favorite vignette was the one called "Cousins" with Alfred Molina and Steve Coogan. I believe it had a great rythm, the most character development than all of the vignettes, amazing acting and chemistry between the actors and ends in a great way.

To sum up, this is a fun film and a courageous one. It is a film that you seldom find among the bullshit that big hollywood studios serve to us nowadays. If you have an hour and a half to spend, you are bored or simply want to spend a nice Sunday afternoon watch this movie and enjoy the dialogue, the faces and the general easy going feeling of it all.