Review of Werckmeister Harmonies (2001) by Anonymous User — 08 Nov 2013

It should certainly come as a surprise to no one that Jim Jarmusch is an admirer of this movie. Here is a movie in crisp black and white that observes at its own pace, not in a hurry to get anywhere, content to just take it in with long takes, cut into an array of tracking shots, close ups and fades, long shots, and even a bit of magic with a handheld. This is one visually stunning movie, a film to be savored just for its technique. I rewound the perspective-bending shot of the whale truck pulling into town four or five times. I have never seen anything like it, and it fascinated me.

I must warn those who have not yet seen this movie that it does not have a plot in a traditional sense. It follows its characters around in something of a day-in-the-life sense, but the theme, it seems to me, is more universal. I'm not entirely sure how to describe the universality of the theme, but if you actually make it through the entire movie, I think you will see it too.