Coffee and Cigarettes

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In 1986 Jim Jarmusch shot a short black and white film for Saturday Night Live showing Steven Wright and Roberto Benigni meeting over some coffee and cigarettes. Since that time he has added ten more shorts with the same motif and style, and even some of the same jokes or lines of dialogue, but each its own story. Some of the films feature either actors or musicians Jarmusch was working with on other films; some are people he just wanted to work with. In many of the scenes, the actors seem to be playing themselves, but each scene is a fictionalized or exaggerated version of the people. Although filmed over a 17-year period, the filming itself really didn't take that long: two of the segments were filmed in a single day, while the final six were filmed in two weeks.

Coffee and Cigarettes is a compilation of these short films. It is possible to look at it as a collection and judge each as a separate entity. However, these short films do fit together well, making an overall watching experience.

Although coffee and cigarettes play an important role in each of the shorts, the overall film is really much more about the interaction that takes place between the characters. Nearly all the segments are characterized by a high degree of awkwardness. When people meet for the first time, they may not know what to talk about, so they focus on their coffee or their smoking rituals. Even when they speak to one another there is often misunderstanding. There are times when two characters are each looking in a different direction as they both carry on their conversation. This social dimension of the film is what is intriguing about it. It mirrors the awkwardness people often feel in a way that we are able to laugh at ourselves as we laugh at the actors.

I should note that this film won't appeal to everyone. I saw it at an art house theater where the audience would all expect off-beat films. There were over a dozen people who walked out at various places in the middle of the film. I don't know what they expected from the film, but their expectations were obviously not met. This is a talking movie. It occasionally involves some physical humor, but for the most part it is scenes with two or more people sitting, drinking coffee, smoking and talking. It is an exercise in people watching.

Yet, in spite of the exodus from the theater, my wife and I were enthralled with the film. On the way home, we kept mentioning the vignettes that appealed to us and found that we touched on most of them. To be sure, some are better than others, but each story brings its own humor and pathos to share with the viewer.

With the summer film season gearing up, there are plenty of films. Many of those are sequels or formula movies that can all blend together. For those who dare to take a chance on a film that is different from the standard multiplex fare, Coffee and Cigarettes can be very rewarding.