Coffee and Cigarettes

Jarmusch’s latest is a collection of short films featuring people sitting around, for the most part enjoying the titular drug-delivery mechanisms.   As Jarmusch puts it, the film is shot in black (“coffee”) and white (“cigarettes”).   He’s shot these comic vignettes over the years, with the oldest dating back to 1986.   Most of the famous and near-famous actors and musicians play versions of themselves.   Bill Murray meets the rappers RZA and GZA; Cate Blanchett visits with her punk rock cousin, also played by Blanchett, etc., etc.   Not every sketch works but at their best they make interesting cultural observations as they allow us to observe various types of humans interacting.

- Jun 4, 2004