Review of Mystery Train (1989) by Brenan C — 14 May 2006

Mystery Train is the episodic telling of three narratives tied to a run down Memphis hotel. There is a quirky Japanese couple touring the hot spots of the American southern music movement, an Italian widow who is waiting to bury the ashes of her husband, and three unlucky natives caught up in a foolish robbery.

Each character brings his own unique relationship to this very real landscape steeped in the shadow of the American music scene. Mystery Train sometimes may feel like it is missing some universal theme or suberobjective that would hold these three pieces together but looking beyond this it is a sincere trip into the heart of one place enhabited by a great variety of rich, compelling characters.