Father Mother Sister Brother Movie Review--From Jim Jarmusch

This is quite the great start to the year for film already. Although it was screened at several film festivals last year, I didn't get the chance to see it.

As I have found with any of Jim Jarmusch's previous work, it's best to not to go into any of his films with the idea that this will be like anything you have seen from him before.         He tends to not repeat himself. Having been a fan of his work since I first saw Stranger Than Paradise(1984), when I worked at Varsity Video in Vancouver, I was hungry for a fresh look at the world that Hollywood is not very good at, often.

This is broken into three different stories, as the poster mentions, and starts with FATHER.

In this first story, a brother and sister make the trip from the city to visit their father in a quite secluded little house where he is content with what he has. As the film opens, he is putting items on a table scattered, and then he throws a pair of pants on the back of a chair. After they leave, he cleans up the little mess he has made for whatever reason.

During this most odd and uncomfortable visit, the three pass on their awkwardness to the viewer, which is rare in film these days. Tom Waits, Adam Driver, & Mayim Bialik really do some great work here. Less is more in scenes like these. I wish more writers & directors knew how to capture those moments. It's obviously been years since they have visited him, or vice versa. Catching up, and yet his kids seem like they have better things to do than be there with him, both checking their watches at times. Before you know it, it's time for them to leave. He watches them drive away, as seen above.

MOTHER is our next story, also an odd and uncomfortable gathering with her 2 daughters for an afternoon tea, etc and the mother needing to know things that neither daughter really wants to share, or to make up lies for fear of what she might think/do, possibly.

The casting is some of the best I have seen in a film; this one was a treat, with Cate Blanchett being one of my favorites. However, Vicky Krieps, as Lilith (with pink hair), stole the entire film for me. Her performance was truly magical and had an energy that really stood out in the film for me.

Our third & final story is SISTER/BROTHER, siblings discussing what to do with their parents beloningings and their apartment. A closeness that is really done well with the camera shots and the great work of the two actors here. Unlike the previous groups in the other stories, they have a close bond, which is evident from the start of our joining them during the difficult times of their lives.

There are quiet moments in this film where no dialogue is spoken, and the scenes simply unfold, which I find adds more realism to the film for me. I have often sat with others, as we all have, and there are moments when nothing is said, nothing awkward, just a moment for each person to be.

I am thankful for filmmakers like Jim Jarmusch for allowing the characters the chance to simply be human and not have an expectation of something unrelatable.

Jim Jarmusch 

There are a few similarities in each of the segments, people riding skateboards through a scene, in slow motion. Toasting with coffee or tea, and someone asking if such a drink can be used in a toast. At least one character in each of the stories is wearing a Rolex watch, as mentioned in the first story, the two adults were often checking theirs.