To me this film was a in detail look at human behaviour and how we can indulge in the little luxaries and pleasures such as coffee and cigarettes throughout meaningless conversations in our lives.
Has anyone got a different point of view?
Meaning? It ain't got no meaning, I don't think so. A good movie doesn't need any meanings. Coffee-and-cigarettes thing is kind of a frame, nice and catchy - true, but yet a frame.
Sure there's an idea that stands behind each movie (some of segments even share similiar ideas), but that's no meaning. It's the plot.
What was the movie about? Human. Picturesque people, contrast conversation, habits and all this stuff. But the meaning? Nuh...
Meanings are usually included into film, when the writer has got the idea, and he can't really develope it. So he thinks of a thing, that would help him lead the story. So the movie is clean, pretty, but usually boring, cause it's the whole way foward... the road is just too straight.
It isn't the case in "Coffee and Cigarettes".
It's a piece of art with a fabulous script that could be philosophical or humorous or ironic. It has an artistic value, think about it. How the black and white themes are caught on the frame...
sharei like your theory.
for me it felt like the director was just trying to show how awkward and boring reality is. not in a negative sense though, just showing how it really is since basically all film glamorizes everything and packs action and angst into it. seems like he was trying to make something raw and real.
this is one of the few movies I don't think has any meaning underneath. It is what it is-- people talking. I don't think we're meant to take it any further.
shareI agrre with you on that it's about people talking. But it's (at least to me) a lot about the different ways that communication can fail and human relations fail too, misunderstandings and the superficial layer of speech.
I couldn't resist the strong feeling of helplessnes all through the scenes, when people tried to communicate about something, to tell their feelings but just couldnt because of the obstacles that human communication carries.
Think of the "Renée" segment and of Iggy and Tom Waits. Then there is the Whites - jack tries so hard to impress meg - but he just can't, because she is so much better informed on his subject then he would ever have thougt - still she tries to allow himto produce himself because he seems to appreciate it. Benini in the initial scene has simply language problems and trouble on staying concentrated.
And coffe and cigarettes make a real good subject if people don't know how to go on in their mingled discussions. or don't know how to start at all.
I could continue... correct me if you think i'm completely wrong - because it might be that it's just me who is obsessed with the study of communication who thinks that this film is about it.
I definitely think this movie has a meaning and I would definitely agree with its emphasis on the communication between people, of the relations between people and our inability to ever perfectly verbalize and communicate what we think we know to another person.
It also seemed to me that it focused on the dancing and moving we do in communication, i remember a teacher once using the term 'ego-chess' to describe human interaction and i think that fits this movie perfectly, everyone trying to say something or reference someone that gives them the upper hand or authority in the conversation or trying to take an indirect shot at the other person to put them in an uncomfortable position. When i was watching the movie it seemed like the coffee tables with there checkered clothes and scattered coffee cups and cigarettes were the obvious symbols, it seemed like these checkered patterns were a common theme and i remember them being all over, on lamp shades and on the walls, not just on table-clothes.
wow this is an interesting observation! :)
checkered patterns, black and white, cigarettes(white) and coffee(black). the only gray area is in the heads of these characters.
I just watched this film a few days ago and thought it was incredible. I think i watched it once, then went back and watched about half of it again. But anyway...
From what I gather from what i've seen from Jarmusch, he's kinda got the whole indie-style road movie thing down. I was blown away by The Limits of Control and Broken Flowers, and actually saw this film after those two. I found plenty of similarities:
One leading character making some sort of journey, through a series of different locations, making various different encounters with a variety of associates along the way. Isaach De Bankole plays this marvelously in The Limits of Control, as does Murray in Broken Flowers. In Coffee and Cigarettes, the whole ensemble cast is there, but there is no leading character travelling between the different encounters. This leads me to believe that we, as an audience, play that role (the fact that each actor plays an interpretation of themselves in real life might lead to somewhat of an initial familiarity between audience and characters?).
The main theme I got from this film was that any location, even that as commonplace as the bars/cafes/restaurants visited in Coffee and Cigarettes, can be the setting for a vibrant, innovative, interesting and at the very least varied encounter. While in The Limits of Control I got the sense that each person the Lone Man encountered provided their own philosophical, ideological viewpoint, the characters in Coffee and Cigarettes are not quite that theoretical. The variety of opinions here ranges from Jack White discussing some sort of electro-magnetic device with his sister, 2 ageing rockers attempting justify their desire to smoke ('i've quit, so now I can have a cigarette'), whilst appearing touchy and overly sensitive and even a purely observative scene in which a beautiful woman experiences an over-attentive waiter while trying to enjoy her coffee. Also Bill Murray was great with the two rappers, as was Coogan and Molina.
I'm not exactly sure that every film needs to be discussed and analysed, and even Jarmusch himself said "its not my job to know what it means" (when talking about The Limits of Control).
I thought this movie was incredible, and this director is a guy i'll be looking out for from now on.
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To me it's about misunderstanding, and conversational confusion. (themes Seinfeld/Larry David also explored)
Buscemi & the twins — in totally separate worlds, SB misunderstanding their signals, and the things Elvis did
Iggy & Tom Waits — the most obvious example, and comes early in film — over innocent phrases
Renee & the waiter — over her coffee and being left alone
No Problem — keeps asking over and over if something's wrong or something to say ... "You don't understand."
Cousins — Cate Blanchett's characters not "getting" the other's life; appreciating or not appreciating the gift
Tesla — Meg not getting what Jack's saying about Tesla, Jack snapping at the guy who's just trying to help
Steve Coogan - Alfred Molina — the entire scene's stilted misconnecting conversation, climaxing in the Coogan's misunderstanding Molina's status and intent
Delirium — Bill Murray getting phoney medical advice; thinking he's suffering from delirium
Taylor Mead — "I've lost touch with the world" ... can't explain Tesla ... forgetting when he had lunch ... which all amounts to a pretty touching scene with ol' Talyor Mead
To me it's portraits about how people can't communicate, even when in the most intimate conversation-friendly setting — 2 or 3 people over coffee & cigarettes.
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