Broken Flowers
January 20, 2006
- Dan Ramer,
DVDFile.com
Writer/director Jim Jarmusch, all hipness and lower-west-
side Manhattan cool, has become the cinematic equivalent of a robust,
dependable fine wine. Always unexpected, never redundant,
Jarmusch’s work - from the rat-a-tat philosophical musings of
Ghost Dog to the pouty, inimitable strains of “I Put a
Spell on You” in Stranger Than Paradise - has indie
chic written all over it. And Jarmusch doesn’t give that phrase
a bad name.
You’d think that he’d lose a little
steam after a while, but Jarmusch really just seems to be improving in
his third decade of filmmaking. Broken Flowers could have
been a Bill Murray vanity piece that picked up where Sofia
Coppola’s Lost in Translation left off, letting the
veteran actor do his thing and, in the process, lose emphasis on story
development and arc. But Jarmusch shoehorns Murray’s
introspective antics into a narrative that serves both Murray’s
clear desire to be the film’s center of attention and lets the
story unfold at an organic and appropriate rate.
The story
premise is simple. Bill Murray plays Don Johnston, a man who lives a
dull life. He and his neighbor, Winston (Jeffrey Wright), have a
couple good laughs here and there, but that’s pretty much it.
One day Johnston gets an anonymous letter explaining that he has a
son. The trouble is that in his youth Johnston was quite a
ladies’ man and he has no idea which ex-girlfriend had his
child.
So Johnston departs for an odyssey to visit past
lovers, from a pet psychologist (Jessica Lange) to a retail suburban
weirdo (Sharon Stone) and all sorts of bizarre women in between (Tilda
Swinton stands out as a particularly cranky white trash screamer).
Broken Flowers is not for every taste; I saw it with
my dear friend and movie-lover Ryan (who has an esteemed taste in
film) and he simply couldn’t penetrate it. Scenes were too long,
with too much dead space in them, and the film’s oblique and
open-ended conclusion wasn’t enough to merit the narrative
eccentricity of the rest of the picture. But for those with a penchant
for a unique story uniquely told, there’s a big chance this film
might appeal.
Is it Jarmusch’s best film? Probably
not. I’d still give that honor to the peyote wonderland of
Dead Man. But it doesn’t matter much; in a pantheon of
films as rich and diverse as the best the indie scene has to offer,
Broken Flowers is the kind of subtle, idiosyncratic
masterwork that comes around all too infrequently.
The Video: How Does The Disc Look?
There’s an attention to detail in this 1.78:1
anamorphic widescreen transfer that is rare in the world of DVD. First
and foremost, Jarmusch lists the name of his video colorist (John J.
Dowdell III) on the back of the keepcase, proof that the man cares
deeply about the presentation of his films on DVD. And this transfer
has the kind of rich colors and punchy detail quality that we’ve
come to expect from Jarmusch pictures. Black levels are consistent and
deep, and finely grained detail is superb, capturing everything that
needs to be captured. There’s grain visible, but that’s an
aesthetic choice made to give the film a ‘70s vibe.
Exceptional.
The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?
The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, though, comes up a little
short in comparison with other Jarmusch DVDs. The roominess of the mix
offers up multiple chances to really involve surround channels and
bring in atmospherics and unique effects, but things stay fairly
centered and front-heavy. Again, perhaps this is an aesthetic choice,
but while it was easy to appreciate the video transfer, I found myself
wishing this mix was more complex. (Perhaps it would have played
better as simply stereo.)
Also included are English,
French, and Spanish subtitles, and English Closed Captions.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
This is typical Jarmusch; there ain’t much here. We
get three featurettes, which are all basically
outtakes: Girls on the Bus (2:00) gives us
some ad lib improv from some supporting players in a key scene from
the film; Broken Flowers: From Start to Finish (8:00) gives
us a square look at Murray’s off-the-cuff stylings; and The
Farmhouse (4:00) offers a bit of everything, with some thoughts
from Jarmusch on the film, as well. Rounding out this edition are
previews for the film and its soundtrack.
Final Thoughts
An amazing film,
Broken Flowers is the kind of movie that doesn’t
necessarily exploit all the best facets of DVD as a format, but
it’s worth adding to the shelf, nonetheless. The video quality
is fantastic, so even if the sound mix and bonus features come up a
bit short, it’s easy to sit back and enjoy the film multiple
times. Thirty bucks is far too high a suggested list price, but for
Jarmusch fans or for those looking for something unique to put in
their rental queue, look no further. Recommended.
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