Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)

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Black Hat
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Re: Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)

#26 Post by Black Hat » Fri Oct 28, 2016 2:01 pm

Oh wow, I thought they looked familiar, that's a cool touch from Jarmusch.

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ando
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Re: Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)

#27 Post by ando » Mon Dec 26, 2016 2:32 pm

Film Comment Interview No Jarmusch Filmmakers thread? Odd.

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swo17
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Re: Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)

#28 Post by swo17 » Mon Dec 26, 2016 2:43 pm

Probably because almost all of his films have dedicated threads.


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FrauBlucher
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Re: Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)

#30 Post by FrauBlucher » Mon Jan 16, 2017 7:46 am

I loved this film. It's beautiful, thoughtful, funny, and feels oh so natural. Jarmusch captures this little diverse blue color town with such honesty and humanity.
mfunk9786 wrote:The repetition here is a great device
Clearly this is a nod to his good friend Bela Tarr.

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tenia
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Re: Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)

#31 Post by tenia » Mon Jan 16, 2017 8:51 am

There was something truly beautiful in Paterson, something at the time very specific (Paterson, the city, the poets, the eccentric girlfriend who lives in B&W) but also perfectly universal. It evolves progressively just like the Ron Padgett poem does : at first, you don't realise how universal it is, but then, when it reveals this universality, it's tremendously but quietly moving.

It made me think of many Ozu movies in the way it deals with quiet transformation, not so much hard deep changes but smaller ruptures in the continuity, just a small detour in the flow of a calm river. It still doesn't mean there isn't anything going on, it's quite the opposite. But these are smaller touches slightly altering lifes' courses step by step, day after day, just like our daily events shape our lives.

In any case, within a 2016 that didn't feel it had many exceptional movies, Paterson certainly is my favourite 2016 movie.

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FrauBlucher
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Re: Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)

#32 Post by FrauBlucher » Tue Jan 17, 2017 7:46 am

On a side note... I guess it's possible that this could be the first Amazon produced film to make it into Criterion?

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chiendent
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Re: Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)

#33 Post by chiendent » Wed Jan 18, 2017 2:55 pm

This finally started playing near me last weekend so between this and Silence it was an Adam Driver kinda weekend. This was just the kind of movie I was hoping it would be. The atmosphere reminded me a lot of the slice-of-life manga I used to love when I was younger, specifically Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou.

Also, between this and The Good Place, I hope to see William Jackson Harper in a lot more roles in the future.

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PfR73
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Re: Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)

#34 Post by PfR73 » Wed Jan 18, 2017 7:09 pm

FrauBlucher wrote:On a side note... I guess it's possible that this could be the first Amazon produced film to make it into Criterion?
Weiner-Dog wrote:I hope I do since I'm only a BD-R!
The Handmaiden wrote:I hope I do since Sony is only putting me out on DVD!

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PfR73
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Re: Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)

#35 Post by PfR73 » Wed Jan 18, 2017 7:12 pm

Saw this last week, really enjoyed it, Jarmsuch's most tender film. Does anyone else besides me like to think that Masatoshi Nagase is reprising his character from Mystery Train?

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Michael Kerpan
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Re: Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)

#36 Post by Michael Kerpan » Wed Jan 25, 2017 6:39 pm

PfR73 wrote:Saw this last week, really enjoyed it, Jarmsuch's most tender film.
Agreed. An intelligent, very warm-hearted film. I enjoyed essentially everything about this.

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LightBulbFilm
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Re: Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)

#37 Post by LightBulbFilm » Tue Apr 04, 2017 8:15 pm

Blu-ray arrived today and immediately went for a revisit.

I'd hate to just echo a lot of the positive sentiments already made about the movie. It really is a beautiful piece, and a refreshing one at that--The Limits of Control lost me upon initial viewing, and I owe it to the film to revisit with an open mind and heart.

I truly loved Only Lovers Left Alive but it felt a bit off-putting to me. It felt like the blood of Jarmusch ran through it, but then there were some off-the-wall, semi-hokey moments that really took me out. It's a difficult movie in many respects, but the theme is certainly poignant.

Two notes on Paterson: The blu ray is BARE. I'm wondering about the already pondered Criterion release. The blu ray seems distributed through Universal, and of course we know of their cooperation.

Someone here has already mentioned the two leads of Moonrise Kingdom showing up in a scene later in the film. I can't help but think it's not only a "nod" but a continuation of their narrative, perhaps. I become more attached to the idea when we see Masatoshi Nagase (Mystery Train) toward the end of the film speak to Driver on the bench at the waterfall. I wonder if it's Jun from Mystery Train, now older, without Mitsuko--in the same respect as the Moonrise Kingdom kids, now older, and grown and still together.

Someone here spoke on imperfect relationships previously (which this film and its constant notes of duality, twins, and black & white is most certainly circling,) and one of the most prominent of Jarmusch's works is that of the young Japanese couple touring Memphis in Mystery Train.

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Re: Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)

#38 Post by All the Best People » Wed Apr 05, 2017 12:48 am

I was bothered that this film didn't get more attention near the end of last year; the Spirit Awards, for instance, should be ashamed for not nominating it while giving nods to that horrible, laughable Tim Roth hospice movie, Chronic.

The film has lingered with me, and, though I wouldn't put it at the heights of Jarmusch's top tier (Dead Man, Ghost Dog, Down by Law, and, sure, Stranger Than Paradise), it is conveys the essence of Jarmusch's work, his ability to find the beauty in the quotidian and the universal in the specific. Driver is the ideal choice, I think, because his on-screen tenor (in all his work) is so often restless and prowling (he often seems simply incapable of giving any conventional line reading, and yet they never seem forced, as though he's always searching for something real in any situation), and this undercurrent adds layers to his laconic, reflective state of being in this film.

This is also Jarmusch's second straight film that is largely an ode to persistence in creativity. It feels like these last two films are more self-reflective; Adam and Eve felt like a split in Jarmusch, with Adam's despair over the world's creative straits clashing with Eve's relentless pursuit of vitality, and here we see his miniaturism and observational skills.

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Re: Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)

#39 Post by John Shade » Thu Apr 06, 2017 7:57 am

Finally was able to see this--twice this week. I had waited to look at this thread or read any criticism of the film until I had seen it, all in all very happy I waited. Of course what I'm about to say has "spoilers", though I'm not entirely sure that applies to a film like this, still if you haven't seen it maybe skip this write up...

I really love how this movie portrays both inspiration and the creative process as being linked to almost routine experiences. This is a very quiet celebration of beauty, in some ways I think it captures what Malick has been so painstakingly trying to capture in his last few films (not to necessarily dismiss those projects). It is both about poetry and poetic because it uses what many great poets have used: close yet passive observation, a love of nature, and internal repetition, among others. I'm sure some could accuse Jarmusch, and would probably accuse a younger filmmaker, of being somewhat "cutesy" (for lack of a better term) for the scene where the young girl shares her poetry, but in many ways that scene represents what this film is about. Here Paterson notes to the girl that internal rhyming is just as effective a device as traditional rhyme schemes. The movie itself is filled with these kinds of internal rhymes, repetitions, and doubles. Obviously Paterson lives in a town called Paterson, drives a bus with the word brandished across it, and repeats certain patterns throughout the day and evening. Laura tells him about a dream of having twins, and a number of twins appear throughout the day. Even the two sort of gift-like, coincidental meetings happen in a patterned way: one closer to the middle of the film, the other toward the very end.

I think it's funny mfunk mentioned Be Kind Rewind, because I thought of that film early on too. There was (albeit zanier) a case of portraying creativity amidst blue collar, racial diversity. Jarmusch really handled this aspect well too. We often hear about how certain films lack this kind of diversity, but I would say here it's handled so naturally and without self-reference, along with showing blue collar workers who are rarely portrayed as doing very day in, day out repetitive work. For whatever reason the look of the film made the city of Paterson appear very beautiful to me, and not just because of the emphasis on the waterfalls.

As far as the Moonrise Kingdom bit, I think this is both an excellent nod and sort of agree with LightBulbFilm that it's like some kind of parallel universe continuation. But I really love both of these films, so I like that they're now linked. In a way they're both great love stories; Paterson shows Paterson and Laura in a symbiotic relationship (maybe I'm somewhat corny but I thought the Dante postcard with a rose was such a genuinely deft and loving touch) though they know how to give each other their creative space as Black Hat also noted. It should be noted that I think Jarmusch views many of these characters as artists in a way, Laura included. I could say so much more about this film and perhaps will later

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MoonlitKnight
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Re: Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)

#40 Post by MoonlitKnight » Sun Apr 09, 2017 5:34 pm

I'm in agreement with nearly everyone here with how wonderful this film is. Jarmusch was kind of starting to lose me for a bit with "Broken Flowers" and "The Limits of Control" (maybe I need to revisit them?), but he somewhat got me back with "Only Lovers Left Alive" and definitely with this. I was even saddened to learn during the credits that the dog that played Marvin had died since the film was finished. :(

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hearthesilence
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Re: Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)

#41 Post by hearthesilence » Sun Apr 09, 2017 8:32 pm

Limits is actually one of my favorite Jarmusch films (up there with Strangers Than Paradise, Down by Law, Dead Man and Paterson). His take on a Jacques Rivette film.

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knives
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Re: Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)

#42 Post by knives » Sun Apr 09, 2017 8:33 pm

I agree, though that might be coloured by it being his only film I've seen in theaters and the extreme swings in opinion I had during the drive home.

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Re: Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)

#43 Post by FrauBlucher » Sun Apr 09, 2017 8:51 pm

I really hope there is some forthcoming indication that Criterion will end up with this.

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Re: Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)

#44 Post by domino harvey » Sun Apr 09, 2017 8:58 pm

I'm not as big a Jarmusch acolyte as some, but I thought this was his best film since Ghost Dog, even if I don't think it was one of the year's best. Jarmusch's usual love of passivity can be trying, but Driver makes it work here. Again, I don't know that this film comes anywhere near the realm of "spoilers," but just in case
SpoilerShow
I found Driver's final poem quite moving and resonating for how we remember small things. The film itself mirrors this by presenting us with a row of small encounters, from which we can pick and choose which to remember fondly afterwards. Along these lines, I thought Driver's interaction with the young poetess was terrific and the easy highlight of the film, and I loved how true and direct her poem was and how it was so in line with his own style and simple approach.

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hearthesilence
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Re: Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)

#45 Post by hearthesilence » Sun Apr 09, 2017 10:06 pm

knives wrote:I agree, though that might be coloured by it being his only film I've seen in theaters and the extreme swings in opinion I had during the drive home.
It was the first Jarmusch film I ever saw in a theater, and the first one I saw at the Angelika (still my least favorite theater in NYC - everything they project looks way too dim). Pretty full theater, I laughed through a lot of it, as did a friend, but I think we were the only ones who thought the film was that funny. I kept thinking "what's wrong with you people? There's some funny shit going on here!" (it's got all the basic building blocks for a James Bond movie, but purposely arranged so that none of it adds up to one - the ultimate Jim Jarmusch joke) On the way out, one family vocally expressed their bewilderment and dislike for the movie, but hey, their loss.

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Lemmy Caution
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Paterson

#46 Post by Lemmy Caution » Mon Apr 10, 2017 5:45 am

MoonlitKnight wrote:I'm in agreement with nearly everyone here with how wonderful this film is. Jarmusch was kind of starting to lose me for a bit with "Broken Flowers" and "The Limits of Control" (maybe I need to revisit them?), but he somewhat got me back with "Only Lovers Left Alive" and definitely with this. I was even saddened to learn during the credits that the dog that played Marvin had died since the film was finished. :(
I really disliked Limits and Only LLA -- just not my kind of films and I got nothing out of them.
So I had nearly given up on Jarmusch. But Paterson really worked for me. It helped that I have seen very few 2016 films that I've connected with. Hopefully as I catch up on last year's films, I'll find more, but for now Paterson is at the top of my list, with Aferim! really the only other contender.

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Kat
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Re: Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)

#47 Post by Kat » Thu Apr 13, 2017 1:49 pm

I saw it twice at the cinema and once more now with my blu ray which reawakened me to it - I knew I loved it but it was fresh again, a tender work of humanity, wise, lyrical, kind, open.

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Re: Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)

#48 Post by John Shade » Fri Apr 14, 2017 7:32 am

Good reactions all around here. I think domino's right that Jarmusch's passivity works well in this context. The imagist and Williams type poems work so well because they are about ordinary observation becoming inspiration. Jarmusch also offers an insight into humility, with perhaps a bit on artistic solitude and how it relates to communication. The scene with the girl really stood out to me too. The humility here isn't just accepting that anyone can create art; it's more like inspiration is open to anyone. Throughout the movie little artistic moments like this are shown: whether it's the rapper in the laundromat or Laura's black and white cupcakes and other artistic endeavors.

Yet maybe Paterson takes his humility a little too far, or I wonder if the movie is making that point about artistic solitude. By keeping his poetry to himself he's linked to two other figures referenced in the movie: Emily Dickinson, who is more clearly referenced, and Franz Kafka (either The Trial or The Castle is on his desk).
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.Then the poems are sadly destroyed and he says they're like words written on water--maybe I'm reading too much into this but that sounded like Keats' gravestone, a poet who thought he'd be forgotten. My point is that he chose not to share them, sometimes even with his wife, both a type of muse and his most intimate relation. Art is shown as involving observation and inspiration throughout, but the communicative element is left out. The destruction of the poems just might teach him this lesson: both the encounter with the girl and the encounter with the tourist are about shared inspiration, and the latter moment is so much more powerful because it comes at such a time of need. Seeing the tourist come so far to appreciate and tribute this seemingly minor beauty is a great communicative and humbling way out of too much solitude.

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Kat
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Re: Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)

#49 Post by Kat » Fri Apr 14, 2017 10:30 am

SpoilerShow
.Then the poems are sadly destroyed and he says they're like words written on water--maybe I'm reading too much into this but that sounded like Keats' gravestone, a poet who thought he'd be forgotten. My point is that he chose not to share them, sometimes even with his wife, both a type of muse and his most intimate relation. Art is shown as involving observation and inspiration throughout, but the communicative element is left out. The destruction of the poems just might teach him this lesson: both the encounter with the girl and the encounter with the tourist are about shared inspiration, and the latter moment is so much more powerful because it comes at such a time of need. Seeing the tourist come so far to appreciate and tribute this seemingly minor beauty is a great communicative and humbling way out of too much solitude.
SpoilerShow
yes it's Keats - it made me laugh, self pity, self pity in a poet that did not seem ironic (and Keats' situation being what it was when he said it). What you say is interesting on the sharing. Yet Paterson seems very much in communication with others, the rapper, the little girl. Not perhaps on how he really feels about some things at home maybe, guitars, pies, but who is on top of it all. We don't know he doesn't have others he might talk to of poems, even if they are not his own. But what is this lesson? What's wrong with not sharing them? (yet?)
It also makes me think how much that is poetic is lost to ourselves simply as we've not been validated to know it as such and how much is lost for forgetting the poet in others as they have not had that label given them - and his happiness isn't entirely in having the poems but in his life and making them...and learning, maybe that's another step, to learn to be able to share them, be able to admit he writes them (or is it just honest that he didn't when he had lost all of them and his place to write more, it shocked him to losing track of what he really had, how he lived, who he is...no poems, not a poet? not sure I agree)...maybe their loss is about the loss of all the moments we all lose, even if we write/paint or whatever...and in fact may lose something in trying too hard to hold what we do in poems or other, their distraction (?). My circles, sorry...I just don't think he's too alone, he's working, nor doing much wrong, and it's only a part of his story.

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Re: Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)

#50 Post by mfunk9786 » Fri Apr 14, 2017 12:02 pm

But the film is also very much about progression and practice and dedication. It isn't a mistake that Paterson's best poem is the last one in the film, I don't think - his deus ex machina-assisted decision to continue on is just lovely. We feel absolutely crushed that his old work has been lost, but that void is immediately replaced by hope for what he'll be capable of in the future.

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