Coffee and Cigarette

[tallinn:express]

At the viewing I attended, there was an eclectic bunch, everyone from the usual film addicts and moms to college kids and older couples...I'm sure each demographic got something out of this witty, artsy film. It remarkably portrayed the nature of human character. I think this movie not really for the masses, cuz this is not a movie for a crowd that is looking for broad comedy, slapstick, or crude jokes dealing with sex and bodily functions, if you're more of a Woody Allen or Tarantino fan, Coffee and Cigarettes is definitely your cup of tea.

ps. the black and white cinematography is terrific

[skahound]

I've been meaning to check this film out ever since it hit our local art-house about a year ago. This film was shot over a 17 year period beginning in 1987 with the filming of the Steven Wright sequence.

[futura]

I recently rented this on DVD and fell asleep.

I felt like it was just trying so hard - but missing it every time.

The dialgue was not interesting. The black and white visuals have been done before. It was trying to be visually stunning, but it wandered trying to show us something interesting.

It needed better vignette storylines. The one with Cate Blanchett is probably the most interesting of any of them.

If there was anything interesting about them, I think that there was some good sense of space. The places that each scene took place was interesting. Background music. Props. All pretty good. But there was not an ounce of interesting story to ride on top of all that.

The b&w makes it SEEM "artistic" and creative. Meanwhile, the filmmakers were simply searching for a vision - and never got there. Unfortunately.

I had such high hopes for this. I wouldn't typically write this much about such a bad movie - but it really disappointed me. I've been longing for a good arthouse flick for a long time now.... and this failed to impress.

[hoodednight]

Re: Coffee and Cigarette

I agree with Futura's assessment. This movie was horrible. But, I don't
know that I am that surprised... I've never been a big fan of Jim
Jarmusch. Most, if not all, of his films are b & w, but this "artistic"
gesture never makes up for his lack of content.

Coffee and Cigarettes had some of the worst dialogue I have
witnessed in a long time. The points that Jarmusch was apparently
trying to make about modern day society and relationships were
constructed very poorly. . .