Review of Mystery Train (1989) by Mark A — 16 Aug 2011

A simple tale, told in three parts, of three groups of people who converge on the same flea-bag hotel in Memphis. The characters are eccentric, and the three tales are held together by one comically executed event in the early morning hours.

This film is worth it just to see Screamin' Jay Hawkins as the desk clerk at the hotel, but there are other musicians who make appearances as well in this homage to the Memphis music scene. Even a young Steve Buscemi makes an appearance here.

The humorous moments are subtle, and the story is told with a certain amount of pathos that steadily draws the viewer in until we actually care what happens to these people. Okay, maybe not for the clowns in the third segment, but for most of them, anyway.

A lot of the area where this was filmed has changed since then, so this can be seen as preserving a bit of the history of Memphis as well. One of Jim Jarmusch's early efforts, it is a well crafted film and one this viewer enjoyed.