The FiFi Report 051

Coffee and Cigarettes by Jim Jarmusch
You can’t say this is a movie with a story because it is really a series of vignettes centred around coffee and cigarettes. (Funnily enough). But because these are almost banned substances these days, the whole movie is almost a politically incorrect statement. Oh my god, it is so shocking seeing so many smokers. Shot in black and white and apparently made over 17 years (though all the actors don’t look any younger), it stars lots of famous types playing themselves or a version of themselves. Some are really boring, some are really funny and some are just plain kooky. The fabulous Cate Blanchett plays herself as a movie star and then her rough Aussie cousin. She steals the show and it’s very funny. But watch out for Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, Alfred Molina, Steve Coogan, Jack white and the charmingly cynical Bill Murray who plays a waiter. The New York Yimes say that ‘Steve Coogan’s self-mocking turn is a repellent tour de force” I think that’s a compliment. Each little conversation/vignette is set in a café and it should be a relaxing atmosphere but most of the conversations are quite nervous, prickly, on edge and no one seems very happy . Maybe they should give up coffee and cigarettes.