Synopsis
In Memphis, Tennessee, over the course of a single night, the Arcade Hotel, run by an eccentric night clerk and a clueless bellboy, is visited by a young Japanese couple traveling in search of the roots of rock; an Italian woman in mourning who stumbles upon a fleeing charlatan girl; and a comical trio of accidental thieves looking for a place to hide.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Youki KudohMitsuko
- Masatoshi NagaseJun
- Screamin' Jay HawkinsNight Clerk
- Cinqué LeeBellboy
- Nicoletta BraschiLuisa
- Elizabeth BraccoDee Dee
- Joe StrummerJohnny
- Rick AvilesWill Robinson
- Steve BuscemiCharlie
- Tom NoonanMan in Diner
Recommendations
- 100
Chicago Sun-Times
There is a deep embedding of comedy, nostalgia, shabby sadness and visual beauty. - 91
The A.V. Club
It’s a film of odd moments, dry humor, and restless characters, each of whom end the film by departing from Memphis, weighed down by what they’ve taken away from it, even if they can’t exactly define what that is. - 90
The New York Times
The dialogue sounds as if it had been gathered by means of microphones hidden in diners, buses, waiting rooms, restrooms, motels and park benches. Sometimes it is hilariously banal, with never a word wasted. - 90
Time Out London
The film is about storytelling, about how we make connections between people, places, objects and time to create meaning, and how, when these connections shift, meaning changes. Best of all are Screamin' Jay Hawkins and Cinqué Lee as argumentative hotel receptionists hooked on Tom Waits' late night radio show. They, and Jarmusch's remarkably civilised direction, hold the whole shaggy dog affair together, turning it into one of the best films of the year. - 90
Los Angeles Times
It's a jewel-like, minimalist film about a group of crisscrossing wanderers and outlaws on one lyrically strange day and night in Memphis--where haphazard-seeming events slowly merge into entrancingly complex figures and patterns. - 89
Austin Chronicle
Jim Jarmusch applies his minimalist style to the margins of Memphis as seen through the experiences of three sets of foreigners. Great casting and occasional moments of grace. - 88
Rolling Stone
This bracing, original comedy may be mostly smoke and air, but it's not insubstantial. Mystery Train insinuates itself into the memory and lingers on. - 80
Empire
Jim Jarmusch's first colour film is less understated and more inviting than those he made before, which may have as much to do with the constant presence of Elvis (in one form or another) as the rich seam of oddball humour and stylish cinematography.
