Broken Flowers (USA/France) (Focus Features) (2005) ***1/2Year: 2005iMDB
Director: Jim Jarmusch Cast: Bill Murray, Jeffrey Wright, Julie Delpy, Sharon Stone, Tilda Swinton, Jessica Lange
It is interesting how everyone can jump to compare two movies mainly because they have the same lead actor. Of course, Broken Flowers and Lost in Translation have some more high-level similarities as they both deal with midlife life reassessments (I wouldn't call it crisis necessarily) combining seriousness and strong touches of humor.
Don Johnston (Murray) is a veteran bachelor who one day receives an anonymous letter informing him that he has a 20 year old son that is looking for him. Pushed by his neighbor and friend Winston (Jeffrey Wright), he proceeds on a journey through his past, trying to meet his flames from two decades ago and figure out which one might be the mother of his son, if indeed such a son existed.
Similarly to Lost in Translation, Broken Flowers is not about the destination, but about the journey. However, director/writer Jim Jarmusch manages to pull the rug from under many viewers, who are easily drawn into the movie's "detective story" feel, humor and overall storytelling, only to feel cheated by the only possible ending, which however is not the one that they'd expect. In a sense, Lost in Translation is more honest about its intentions, but stop comparing and enjoy one of the most acclaimed movies at the 2005 Cannes Festival.
Posted by TheCasualCritic on September 12, 2005 12:53 PM | TrackBack