Family Breaks: Jim Jarmusch Dissects Family Problems
A brother and sister are going to visit their elderly father, who lives in the wilderness. Two sisters come to tea with their mother, a famous writer. The informal twins are visiting the apartment of their recently deceased parents for the last time. All this is the plot of the novels from Jim Jarmusch's new film "Father Mother Sister Brother". The film, which won the Venice Festival 2025, was released in Russia on January 1. And this is only at first glance not the right time for her. Izvestia was convinced that in the midst of vacation idleness, family feasts and visiting trips, such an unexpected look at family ties can make you think about a lot.
Coffee, cigarettes and melancholy
Jarmusch's last film, "The Dead Don't Die," was released six years ago, prophetically anticipating the coronavirus pandemic. Many, however, reacted to him with skepticism (just not Izvestia). Indeed, who could have expected a parody of zombie horror from a subtle ironic realist? But even earlier, Jarmusch had another unexpected genre experiment: the vampire melodrama "Only Lovers will Survive." And again, not everyone appreciated the experiment.
A frame from the movie "Father mother sister brother"
Against the background of these tapes, "Father Mother Sister Brother" looks like Jarmusch's long-awaited return to classical style and subject matter. Let's say more: the structure of the painting — short stories built around gatherings at a table — inevitably evokes associations with "Coffee and Cigarettes", perhaps the most famous of Jarmusch's creations (may fans of "The Dead Man" and early paintings forgive us). But if there were light, seemingly random, eccentric scenes — a cycle of mini-benefit performances by actors, here we got something much deeper, vital and filled with melancholy.
This is a film about family ties, the strength of which is sometimes illusory, even if everyone retains the appearance of mutual love and care. The characters of the different novels are not related to each other, although Jarmusch intersperses repetitive motifs, phrases, and symbols into the narrative. But what really unites everything that is happening is the feeling that the closest people really don't know each other very well.
Following Wenders
In the first novel, a brother and sister visit their elderly father (played by charismatic singer Tom Waits, Jarmusch's "mascot" since the 1980s) - and they have absolutely nothing to talk about with him. It's like there's an invisible wall between relatives, and there's no desire on either side to break it. And even when the guests begin to suspect that the owner's money situation is not as bad as he pretends — the old man's supposedly fake Rolexes look very much like real ones, and the furniture, covered with deliberately shabby capes, is surprisingly high—quality - they are in no hurry to get to the truth. You know less, you sleep better.
A frame from the movie "Father mother sister brother"
There is an understatement in everything. We understand that the characters in every novel have skeletons in their closets. But the director (who is also a screenwriter) deliberately does not dump them on the viewer, does not dot the I's. This makes the film similar to last year's masterpiece by Wim Wenders, "Perfect Days," where intrigue sprouted over and over again, but did not germinate. There are other similarities. For example, in both films there are no conflicts, clashes of characters, bright events, and finally, love (with the exception of kinship). However, despite the absence of the usual elements of drama, the narrative of both Wenders and Jarmusch turns out to be paradoxically meaningful.
By the way, it's not surprising that two classics of auteur cinema go hand in hand: for Jarmusch, Wenders is something of a godfather in the profession.: The American started his career as an assistant to a German and took the rest of the film from him to make his debut. And it was Jarmusch who became the main overseas representative of the road movie genre, which Wenders developed in Europe. It is symbolic that in the 21st century, both masters prefer different characters and different plots than before: vagabond travelers have been replaced by stay-at—home people, and the desire for communication has been replaced by the desire for solitude. And if Wenders gives his character, a toilet cleaner in Tokyo, this privilege in full, then Jarmusch, on the contrary, builds the whole film on the fact that people, even if they seem to be close, have to communicate.
Fathers and children
In the second novel, two adult daughters (one of whom is played by Cate Blanchett with a funny haircut) come to tea with their mother, a prim, wealthy writer (the brilliant role of Charlotte Rampling). Their entire conversation at the table is filled with awkward pauses. With a visible effort, the trio keeps up the conversation: the gap is not only between generations, but also between sisters.
A frame from the movie "Father mother sister brother"
Is the mother to blame for this? It seems obvious that yes. One glance at Rampling's heroine is enough to imagine what a despot she was in the past; what icy indifference she showered on her children. But there are no direct accusations in Jarmusch's painting.: This is not the Oscar-winning "Anatomy of a Fall" (it focuses on a successful novelist of a similar type). There is also no "work on mistakes" or at least the desire to correct them, as in Jarmusch's "Broken Flowers", where Bill Murray's character tried to find his illegitimate children and establish contact with them. Everything seems to be fine here. All the sadder.
Only the third novel adds to the optimism. In it, the twins, a sister and a brother, visit their dead parents' apartment for the last time and examine the small artifacts of their lives. A marriage certificate (fake), birth documents for children (real), a lot of driver's licenses from different states (it's impossible to make out what's genuine and what's not), and most importantly, photos. It turns out that the mother and father were still adventurers. And, probably, they also have something to blame. The characters in the final episode are not exactly happy guys. However, the warmth with which the twins look at old pictures, recall the past and make fun of each other, compensates for everything else.
A frame from the movie "Father mother sister brother"
That's exactly what was missing in the previous two novels, even though everyone was alive and even relatively well. But how to break the ice between the closest people? How can I return a lost contact? In all three episodes, Jarmusch casually, casually, casually shows teenagers skateboarding. Maybe the secret of harmony with the world and oneself lies in their lightness, sincerity, and ability to lose oneself in the moment? Maybe. The director is in no hurry to turn a poetic metaphor into a straightforward message, leaving the interpretation at the discretion of the viewer. Where are you going, three skaters? No response…
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
