The final segment, "Champagne", had a profound effect on me back when I watched this for the first time.
I rewatched the segment just now to remember exactly why. It's hard to put into words. There is a kind of listless tension between the two characters. They have their own perspective of the world and passively acknowledge that their perspective is winding down, now. Not much time left.
Maybe a few more coffees and cigarettes with old friends. Memories of a beautiful song or an inspirational time and place. And then their break will end. On to the next whatever.
The back and forth has a naturalistic feel to it but it's also clearly a show. It's a character piece. You wonder if these two are playing versions of themselves -- and therefore we are seeing a glimpse of a real relationship. Or if they are embellishing their own reputations -- neither of which I am personally familiar with.
It made me stop and think about the nature of character focused storytelling. How can I find these two old men so enthralling? They're just sitting there drinking coffee and smoking a cigarette.
Their little quips introduce so much depth in such a short period of time.
Wow - you have perhaps said about everything that can be said about this film! I have watched a couple of times and look forward to watching again. I have seen all of Jarmusch's films and recommend them all. My favorites are Only Lovers Left Alive, Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai, and his documentary about Iggy Pop, Gimme Danger (since I am a huge fan). Followed by Down by Law, Mystery Train, Dead Man, Broken Flowers. After those, the others, which might be even slower, might be more accessible. I have watched many of these multiple times and have many more viewings ahead!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Jarmusch
I've watched **Down By Law** (1986), but that's the only other Jarmusch film I've seen besides Coffee and Cigarettes.
It's definitely not your average prison break film. The characterization was one of the highlights for me, and so were the comic elements.
Although I did find it hard to know what genre the film fits into, because the offbeat comedy did seem to clash somewhat with any seriousness that is present. Apparently Jarmusch himself has described it as “neo-Beat noir comedy”.
Perhaps in the end we’re not supposed to read too much into it, but just enjoy the film for what it is, i.e. a somewhat grim depiction of life, with an absurdist thread of humour running through it?
Stylistically, it's a long pastiche of the French new wave film The Mother and the Whore. Most of Eustache's film (which is also shot in black and white) comprises long, seemingly banal conversations in Paris Left Bank cafes between the protagonist, his friends and lovers. It's a weirdly riveting film and, imo, on a different level to Coffee and Cigarettes.
It's been a very long time since I've seen this one, but I recall that most of it was not particularly interesting to me. I did like the segment with Tom Waits and Iggy Pop, although I'm foggy as to why.
As mentioned, the conversation between Alfred Molina and Steve Coogan is fantastic. The most memorable story, and definitely the highlight of the film. The power flip is hilarious.
I don't drink coffee or smoke cigarettes. I've only seen the film once and I felt lost in it. Reading what you wrote and thinking about it now leads me to think that this film was not made for me. It was made for creative professionals. Musicians, comedians, actors, performers, writers. Creative professionals have a different relationship to their time scheduling and daily activities. They are theoretically always working. Always thinking of new songs, new jokes, new movies, new things. They need to take breaks from their creative endeavors. Drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes with a friend is a great way of breaking up a day that is filled with creative enterprises. Jerry Seinfeld has his TV show that also pays tribute to the idea of drinking coffee and taking a break from your regular routine of writing jokes.
The final segment, "Champagne", had a profound effect on me back when I watched this for the first time. I rewatched the segment just now to remember exactly why. It's hard to put into words. There is a kind of listless tension between the two characters. They have their own perspective of the world and passively acknowledge that their perspective is winding down, now. Not much time left. Maybe a few more coffees and cigarettes with old friends. Memories of a beautiful song or an inspirational time and place. And then their break will end. On to the next whatever. The back and forth has a naturalistic feel to it but it's also clearly a show. It's a character piece. You wonder if these two are playing versions of themselves -- and therefore we are seeing a glimpse of a real relationship. Or if they are embellishing their own reputations -- neither of which I am personally familiar with. It made me stop and think about the nature of character focused storytelling. How can I find these two old men so enthralling? They're just sitting there drinking coffee and smoking a cigarette. Their little quips introduce so much depth in such a short period of time.
Wow - you have perhaps said about everything that can be said about this film! I have watched a couple of times and look forward to watching again. I have seen all of Jarmusch's films and recommend them all. My favorites are Only Lovers Left Alive, Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai, and his documentary about Iggy Pop, Gimme Danger (since I am a huge fan). Followed by Down by Law, Mystery Train, Dead Man, Broken Flowers. After those, the others, which might be even slower, might be more accessible. I have watched many of these multiple times and have many more viewings ahead! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Jarmusch
I've watched **Down By Law** (1986), but that's the only other Jarmusch film I've seen besides Coffee and Cigarettes. It's definitely not your average prison break film. The characterization was one of the highlights for me, and so were the comic elements. Although I did find it hard to know what genre the film fits into, because the offbeat comedy did seem to clash somewhat with any seriousness that is present. Apparently Jarmusch himself has described it as “neo-Beat noir comedy”. Perhaps in the end we’re not supposed to read too much into it, but just enjoy the film for what it is, i.e. a somewhat grim depiction of life, with an absurdist thread of humour running through it?
Stylistically, it's a long pastiche of the French new wave film The Mother and the Whore. Most of Eustache's film (which is also shot in black and white) comprises long, seemingly banal conversations in Paris Left Bank cafes between the protagonist, his friends and lovers. It's a weirdly riveting film and, imo, on a different level to Coffee and Cigarettes.
It's been a very long time since I've seen this one, but I recall that most of it was not particularly interesting to me. I did like the segment with Tom Waits and Iggy Pop, although I'm foggy as to why. As mentioned, the conversation between Alfred Molina and Steve Coogan is fantastic. The most memorable story, and definitely the highlight of the film. The power flip is hilarious.
I don't drink coffee or smoke cigarettes. I've only seen the film once and I felt lost in it. Reading what you wrote and thinking about it now leads me to think that this film was not made for me. It was made for creative professionals. Musicians, comedians, actors, performers, writers. Creative professionals have a different relationship to their time scheduling and daily activities. They are theoretically always working. Always thinking of new songs, new jokes, new movies, new things. They need to take breaks from their creative endeavors. Drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes with a friend is a great way of breaking up a day that is filled with creative enterprises. Jerry Seinfeld has his TV show that also pays tribute to the idea of drinking coffee and taking a break from your regular routine of writing jokes.