The Limits of Control
The Limits of Control
R | 01 May 2009 (USA)
The Limits of Control Trailers

A mysterious stranger works outside the law and keeps his objectives hidden, trusting no one. While his demeanor is paradoxically focused and dreamlike all at once, he embarks on a journey that not only takes him across Spain, but also through his own consciousness.

Reviews
SpecialsTarget Disturbing yet enthralling
Mischa Redfern I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.
Blake Rivera If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.
Scotty Burke It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review
betty dalton The "storyline": Nothing much happens at all. A man in Madrid orders an espresso, takes a train, walks in and out of a spanish museum in madrid, walks around town in madrid. No drama, no humor, just a man wandering about in Madrid getting secretive messages from strange secretive peopleDespite the failure to create drama, humor or suspense this movie still kept me curious about it's ending. I did enjoy it, but in the same way as I would enjoy watching landscapes pass by in the train. Soothing, mellow, calm. But for those who expect a story with some drama, my advice is to walk away. Only suited for die hard Jim Jarmusch fans. This is definitely NOT a typical gangster movie, although some might (wrongly) perceive it to be, having watched the trailer.I really adore (some of) Jim Jarmusch' work. But I do get bored by some of his movies as well. Jarmusch has a great knack for telling stories about people, who just wander about. Really. That's all they usually do in his movies. All of his movies are about people wandering around searching for something, waiting for something, escaping from something. Walking, waiting, wandering around. He has perfected these "wandering" storylines. He always slows his movies down to a level which is very uncommon and sometimes bordering on boring. The latter unfortunately is the case with "No limits No controls". It is basically a rather boring movie only interesting for die hard Jim Jarmusch fans, like myself . It is suited for those who love to relate to 100 year old paintings or movies no one has ever heard of beside an incrowd of movie geeks.Soundtracks in Jarmusch'movies are always eccentric. The music by "Boris" is impressive, edgy and heavy, but I felt it wasnt suited for the mood of this picture. The photography was lacking in originality, although some shots were very gorgeous, because of the beauty of Madrid. BUT the photography was almost entirely consisting of still shots, which were mostly not very impressive. Director Wes Anderson has perfected this still photography in his movies, many others have tried to copy it, but failed at it. So did the photographer in "No limits No control".Acting is great though. Great leading actor, which I had never heard of before. What a powerful face. He indeed doenst have to say anything, which he doesnt. Almost a silent movie, little to none dialogue. But it works. It creates some kind of mystery. Another trade mark of Jim Jarmusch. And there is also a great supporting cast although they only appear very short: Bill Murray (3minutes), John Hurt (5minutes), Abbass (5 minutes), Tilda Swinton (only 15 seconds), being pushed inside a car... Trivia endnote: The end credits mention "Quantum respect and broken flowers to Bart Walker". This Bart Walker fellow is one of the most thanked characters in movie history, because the man has a staggering 30 special thanks credits to his name at Imdb. He must be some sort of mysterious muse for Jim Jarmusch and other directors, because many great directors have thanked this Bart Walker guy many times over the last decades.
gamay9 Some reviewers have commented that the film moves too slowly. Assassinations usually do. I watched the film on DVD, on a 50" plasma HD screen, so the cinematography was good, but, talk about slow. At the 15th of 18 scenes, the DVD reverted back to #1 and I thought the film was intentionally deja vu until I noticed that every aspect was identical. That definitely intensified the slow pace. I moved to another DVD and finished watching the film.I only rented the movie because Paz De La Huerta did a Playboy spread and the commentary referred to her being nude in every scene. Unfortunately, she wasn't in many scenes and her most fascinating feature (her profile) wasn't the focal point of the shoot. When directors want to show nudity at its' best, the actress should be moving about so the viewer gets every imaginable angle.The ending wasn't climactic and caused me to wonder what made the matchbox trading so important to the script.
Matt Kracht The Limits of Control is a surreal, minimalistic movie that subverts everything that's supposed to happen in a thriller. I can totally understand why people would dislike this movie. If you went in expecting a traditional thriller, then it's certainly going to be a disappointment. I'm sure some people will find it pointless and too self-conscious, but this is a pretty common complaint about Jarmusch's work. For some people, his movies work, and, for others, they don't.If you like Jarmusch's slower, more surreal movies, then I'd suggest you give this a chance. It's not my favorite Jarmusch movie, and I think that some of it went over my head, but I liked it quite a lot. The pacing was almost as dream-like as the cinematography. Everything came together beautifully, even if not all of it made sense the first time through. This is one of the reasons why I love the IMDb, however. I love reading everyone's interpretation of movies like this. If you like discussing movies, rather than simply watching them, this will give you a lot to talk about.
Peter Grunbaum Like many other people I'm into Jim Jarmusch because of Down by Law. It's like Bret Easton Ellis. Who would have heard about him if not for American Psyscho? But what has Jim Jarmusch done since Down by Law? Dead Man is a terrible exploitation of William Blake understanding nothing of what Blake has done. Broken Flowers is absolute crap. Ghost Dog is pretty good, but even that does not pay enough tribute to the Hagakure. Now in this movie The Limits of Control he seems to have entered a world of Koyannisquatsi and David Lynch but nothing happens and the symbols signify nothing. If I wanted to look at some ugly guy for two hours (the main character in this movie) I would not watch a movie. I would go to the mall or something. David Lynch is brilliant at making profound imagery and symbolism (symbols) that make sense mixing dream and reality but that just totally does not work in this movie. It's quite sad actually that things have gone that wrong for Jim Jarmusch that he now makes absolutely crappy movies like The Limits of Control. If he makes another movie (I don't know if this is his newest movie actually) I will probably watch it because there has to be something about the director of Down by Law but apparently it is hidden away very deeply and very difficult for him to get it out and just be anywhere near to the brilliance and genius of Down by Law.