ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Benedito Dias Rodrigues I really don't like art movies but this one is very interesting,in a bucolic and already decadent Memphis three stories happen in same time with different an unusual characters crossing their destiny in a cheap hotel,each one didn't are connected but all them acting so close like a parallel world,just Dee Dee has a little link with some them,the music score is fabulous as opening "Mistery Train" the best,Memphis is a kind of Rock'n Roll's Meca,survives from their past idols that addressed mainly to Elvis due cause he lived there,fantastic Jarmush picture!!Resume:First watch: 1991 / How many: 2 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 8.25

Christopher Culver Released in 1989, MYSTERY TRAIN was Jim Jarmusch's third film. The film consists of three independent but interlocking vignettes which take place in a Memphis hotel run by Screamin' Jay Hawkins with the help of bellboy Cinque Lee.In the first scene, young Japanese tourists Mitsuko (Youki Kudoh) and Jun (Matsatoshi Nagase) pass through Memphis to see the monuments of 1950s rock 'n' roll. Their relationship isn't going so well, evoking tragedy. The second vignette introduces us to a recently widowed Italian woman (Nicoletta Braschi) who has to spend a night in town before she can depart with her husband's coffin. Finally, the third vignette follows the post-layoff bender of a couple of newly unemployed locals (Joe Strummer, Rick Aviles) and a local barber (Steve Buscemi). In spite of armed robbery and murder, this is actually the most straight-up funny portion of the film. It's a typical Buscemi part of a nice guy caught up in scandalous events beyond his control, and Joe Strummer has a gift for comedic acting. Between these three plot lines, we are treated to great deadpan interludes between Hawkins and the bellboy.Some filmmakers evoke the natural beauty of their country. Who doesn't want to visit the windswept coasts of Bergman's Sweden or the feverish urban nights of the Italian auteurs? Jarmusch's first three films, on the other hand, portray the United States as a blight of weeds, empty streets, graffiti and failing infrastructure. American by birth, I left the US years ago and this film only makes me grateful I did. But even if the landscape is hideous, with its fairly harmonious relationship of characters of different races, MYSTERY TRAIN does depict a beautiful society that I hope is out there somewhere.I wouldn't rank MYSTERY TRAIN as highly as certain other Jarmusch films. The three stories here are clearly independently conceived, and though they are reconciled into a single plot, the film as a whole doesn't seem so epic. The middle vignette is rather lightweight, although Tom Noonan's bit as a scam artist is creepy and memorable. Still, the film is entertaining and fairly well put-together, and the visuals provide a new strong aspect that one doesn't find in the two earlier efforts. MYSTERY TRAIN was Jarmusch's first film in colour and he chose a lovely cool palette that jars with Screamin' Jay Hawkins' electric red suit.

Sandcooler This movie is often presented as a Memphis-based anthology where all the stories come together in the end, but that's only half true. The character stay in their own segments without meeting each other (with one fairly redundant exception), the only thing that connects them all is that they stay in the same hotel and all end up hearing the same gunshot. And I beg you: don't keep watching to see where the gunshot comes from, it's not worth it. Are there other reasons to keep watching? There are. The last segment is arguably the best, mainly because at least it does have some sort of plot and features the likes of Joe Strummer (yeah, the one from The Clash) and Steve Buscemi. There are some funny lines in there, and Vondie Curtis-Hall (who would go on to direct "Gridlock'd") is pretty awesome in it as well. Most people actually disagree with this though and like the first segment far more, but I couldn't get into it all. It features two Japanese tourists...being Japanese tourists for 40 minutes. Writer/Director Jim Jarmusch does give them some interesting traits and it's a cute couple, but 40 minutes of this? It's not like this is all setting up something, they have nothing to do with the rest of the segments. I'll take Joe Strummer robbing a liquor store any time. The second segment is probably the least interesting to discuss, because most people aren't particularly fond of it and neither am I. It's not filler, but it's not very entertaining either. "Mystery Train" didn't thrill me nearly as much as I thought it would, but I guess the last segment does make it worthwhile.

TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews This is the third film by Jarmusch that I watch(the others being Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai and Night on Earth). He is very interesting, and clearly not into putting out something mainstream. Cultural differences, superficiality and relationships are explored. Editing and cinematography(with long takes and often little movement to the camera) are subtle and remain hidden; not manipulating us, merely objectively showing the events, not judging. The focus is on the characters, all of them well-written and credible. In Memphis, we meet two Japanese tourists(a lot of truth about how people behave when visiting other countries), an Italian woman and a couple of people who live there. It's worth noting how much they talk about pop culture; arguing if Elvis or Perkins was better, what old television show they like, and other superficial things. The thing is not that these people have no problems, or that they don't, at least deep down, realize this; it's that they don't feel like they can solve them, and maybe even admitting that they're there seems like it will just make it hurt more. They are all very human and you can relate to them. This consists of three stories, connected by a couple of things. The humor is great, very discreet. I especially enjoyed Steve... well, Buscemying. Noonan is amazing, as well. The acting is spot-on for most, really. Dialog is important in this; what is said and what isn't. There is a bit of strong language and one sex scene(no nudity, not graphic, mainly moaning and movement) in this. I recommend this to every fan of dramas who do not need visual tricks to sustain their attention. 8/10