The LImits of Control. (15.)
Directed by Jim Jarmusch.
Starring Isaach De Bankole, Paz De La Huerta, Tilda Swinton, John Hurt, Bill Murray, and Gael Garcia Bernal. 116 mins.
The problem with original artists is that they are apt to do things that are original. With his laidback, less is more style Jarmusch is a true original but this 2009 release took it to an extreme that alienated all but his most devoted followers. Back then, seeing it in the cinema while still heavily jet-lagged I had some sympathy with the man snoring in the row in front of me. A decade later though it doesn't seem that provocative, or in-your-face boring. Indeed, it's probably easier to take than his previous film Broken Flowers.
It is The Bourne Ultimatum by way of Antonioni: a stony-faced prank in which all the elements of populist espionage entertainment – a taciturn cold-blooded hero, coded messages, secret assignations, trust nobody paranoia, naked women emerging from hotel swimming pools – are taken and stretched out into a dry, obtuse arthouse movie.
Bankole plays a mysterious man of inaction who may be a spy, may be a hitman, but is clearly not legal. Apart from a spot of Tai Chi the most animated thing he does is occasionally unbutton his jacket. His mission involves travelling around Spain, sitting in cafes with two espressos in separate cups, and waiting for more famous actors from around the world to arrive for their cameos. These involve the exchange of cryptic messages in matchboxes and then failing to engage him in conversation on a topic that interests them; over and over and over again. Repetition is a big part of this film.
Working with legendary cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Jarmusch's Sketches of Spain are beautiful but humdrum. The title comes from William S. Burroughs, but Jarmusch has always been a man to keep things within his own parameters. This is a man who made a film about a jailbreak that didn't show the jailbreak. (There's a similar omission here.) He's always been a master of taciturn, deadpan minimalism but most of his previous films are explosions of Felliniesque exuberance compared to this button-down affair.
One of the most unusual aspects of the film is its acceptance that this isn't the only story in town, that Bankole is just a tiny part of something much bigger about which neither he nor the film has much curiosity towards.
Seeing it again, you appreciate that Bankole is actually rather good at the totem pole style of acting that Bill Murray took to extremes in the previous Jarmusch film Broken Flowers.
Once you have got a measure of what to expect, what keeps you going is wondering if the film is going anywhere with this. The answer, rather surprisingly, is yes. In the last few minutes, the film does enough to convince, me at least, that it had a depth and purpose. In a typically perverse Jarmusch move, this is a film that finally piques your interest in its closing scenes. If you hated it in the cinema I'd very tentatively suggest giving it another go.
Extras.
An American in Europe, a new video interview with Geoff Andrew, author of Stranger Than Paradise: Maverick Film-Makers in Recent American Cinema
The Rituals of Control, a new video essay on the film by author and critic Amy Simmons
Behind Jim Jarmusch, an archival documentary on the making of the film
Untitled Landscapes, an archival featurette showcasing the film’s locations
Theatrical trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring two choices of artwork
Directed by Jim Jarmusch.
Starring Isaach De Bankole, Paz De La Huerta, Tilda Swinton, John Hurt, Bill Murray, and Gael Garcia Bernal. 116 mins.
The problem with original artists is that they are apt to do things that are original. With his laidback, less is more style Jarmusch is a true original but this 2009 release took it to an extreme that alienated all but his most devoted followers. Back then, seeing it in the cinema while still heavily jet-lagged I had some sympathy with the man snoring in the row in front of me. A decade later though it doesn't seem that provocative, or in-your-face boring. Indeed, it's probably easier to take than his previous film Broken Flowers.
It is The Bourne Ultimatum by way of Antonioni: a stony-faced prank in which all the elements of populist espionage entertainment – a taciturn cold-blooded hero, coded messages, secret assignations, trust nobody paranoia, naked women emerging from hotel swimming pools – are taken and stretched out into a dry, obtuse arthouse movie.
Bankole plays a mysterious man of inaction who may be a spy, may be a hitman, but is clearly not legal. Apart from a spot of Tai Chi the most animated thing he does is occasionally unbutton his jacket. His mission involves travelling around Spain, sitting in cafes with two espressos in separate cups, and waiting for more famous actors from around the world to arrive for their cameos. These involve the exchange of cryptic messages in matchboxes and then failing to engage him in conversation on a topic that interests them; over and over and over again. Repetition is a big part of this film.
Working with legendary cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Jarmusch's Sketches of Spain are beautiful but humdrum. The title comes from William S. Burroughs, but Jarmusch has always been a man to keep things within his own parameters. This is a man who made a film about a jailbreak that didn't show the jailbreak. (There's a similar omission here.) He's always been a master of taciturn, deadpan minimalism but most of his previous films are explosions of Felliniesque exuberance compared to this button-down affair.
One of the most unusual aspects of the film is its acceptance that this isn't the only story in town, that Bankole is just a tiny part of something much bigger about which neither he nor the film has much curiosity towards.
Seeing it again, you appreciate that Bankole is actually rather good at the totem pole style of acting that Bill Murray took to extremes in the previous Jarmusch film Broken Flowers.
Once you have got a measure of what to expect, what keeps you going is wondering if the film is going anywhere with this. The answer, rather surprisingly, is yes. In the last few minutes, the film does enough to convince, me at least, that it had a depth and purpose. In a typically perverse Jarmusch move, this is a film that finally piques your interest in its closing scenes. If you hated it in the cinema I'd very tentatively suggest giving it another go.
Extras.
An American in Europe, a new video interview with Geoff Andrew, author of Stranger Than Paradise: Maverick Film-Makers in Recent American Cinema
The Rituals of Control, a new video essay on the film by author and critic Amy Simmons
Behind Jim Jarmusch, an archival documentary on the making of the film
Untitled Landscapes, an archival featurette showcasing the film’s locations
Theatrical trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring two choices of artwork
