Mystery Train Reviews

Elvis told me to give you his comb

Elvis provides the link for these three stories set in Memphis, Tennessee. The first focuses on two avid Elvis fans from Japan, the second on an Italian woman stuck in the town after her plane is forced to land and the third (featuring Buscemi) follows a group of locals who run into trouble with the law after a heavy night of drinking.

In my opinion it?s the first story that makes this film worth watching. The juxtaposition of the 'trendy' urban Japanese couple wandering through the dilapidated streets of downtown Memphis is strangely engaging and is made all the more interesting by the couple?s argumentative nature. It was a shame really that this aspect of the film wasn?t fleshed out further.

The other two stories are well acted but I found them to be little bland in comparison (espeically the 2nd story), although others may disagree with this. Nonetheless I found this to be an interesting little 'Indie' film and I?m sure it will satisfy the needs of those looking for something off the beaten track.

3 out of 5

Mystery Train is a fantasic episodic movie that you will return to time after time. It is always in my top five movies list. The movie is based around a hotel in Memphis which is run by Screamin' Jay Hawkins. In particular, it is based around three rooms of the establishment. In one room are two Japanese tourists on a pilgrimage to the home of Elvis, Carl Perkins and Roy Orbison. These two characters are the most charming couple I have ever seen in a movie. Played superbly by Masatoshi Nagase and Youki Koudoh (the voice of Saya in Blood: The Last Vampire) they will have you laughing for the duration of their entire act. The second room is inhabited by two women who are brought together by fate - they are both in Memphis alone and have missed the last train - and are visited by the ghost of Elvis. The final room is inhabited by three men who are on the run from the law. One of the men happens to be the brother-in-law of the hotel owner, one of them is the brother of one of the girls in room two and the other is her ex. Sounds confusing? Well this is indie cinema, so of course it is! The narrative is very clever in this movie. All three stories are happening at the same time, so when they turn on the radio they will hear the song that the other characters had previously heard. At the end of the movie they are brought together by the sound of a gunshot - the three parts then segue into one as we find out what happened. The movie is full of subtle jokes and superb performances from Steve Buscemi, Joe Strummer and Cinque Lee amongst others. The movie is a lot like Four Rooms which is no surprise considering that both Tarantino, Rodriguez and other contemporary film-makers were influenced by Jim Jarmusch (Mystery Train's director) and indie cinema in general. Rent both today and spot the similarities!

Don't believe the hype

Being a fan of Jim Jarmusch, I had high expectations of this, but have to say I was disappointed. Three stories, all taking place simultaneously, connected via a rundown Memphis hotel, move along at a swift pace, but contain no truly likeable or engaging characters, leaving the viewer rather uninvolved. This film is widely regarded as Jarmusch's masterpiece, but just didn't do it for me.

Sweet old Elvis

I thought that this film was lilting and funny and episodic. Jarmusch reveals the relationships between the characters in an appealingly everyday, charming way. The stories intertwine gently, without overbearing force.

I loved the colours of this film - the greens and reds - they convey the sense of this desolate american city.

It's also a funny film, dotted with gorgeous little moments.

A Brilliant, under rated film

An interesting and compelling film with three stories that all centre around Elvis, the King. The use of colour and music are particuarly interesting, while the focus on these strange, drifting characters makes an excellent film.

Ghost of Elvis haunts cult movie

Jim Jarmusch offers a familiar, film-fan friendly environment to those that seek it. Cinematic homage pervades all: his hip-talking characters mooch around hyper-real, richly textured worlds dodging bullets and seeking the finer things in life, be they freedom (Down By Law), serenity (Ghost Dog) or, in Mystery Train, the ghost of Elvis.

The film comprises three stories taking place over the same restless night, in and around a seedy hotel.

The first, strongest story concerns a pair of young lovers from Yokohama, hopelessly obsessed with 1950s Americana, who are on a pilgrimage to pay their respects to the memories of Elvis and Carl Perkins.

The second story finds an Italian woman forced to spend a night in Memphis whilst travelling home with a corpse.

Finally comes a brilliant comic turn from Steve Buscemi as one of three drunkards forced to lay low to avoid the law.

Neither of the latter two tales quite have the sparkle of the opening one, but Jarmusch finds beauty in the seediness of downtown Tennessee, and the interaction of the cast of outsider-characters is cool and fun.

Memphis Calling

Basically only watching it on the back of being a Joe Strummer fan, this film was suprizingly really good, I don't know anything about the director/writer but I will be looking into his other films. Three stories that run parallel to each other (all based around Memphis with Elvis linking them all in a way) and kind of join together at the end, it certainly looks as if it inspired the Pulp Fiction sort of film, although the stories are much quieter, easier to follow and fun to watch. The fact that Steve Buscemi (one of my favourite actors) is in it just makes it even better, really good film, everyone should see it... oh and Joe Strummer isn't that bad an actor either. Best Scenes: Anything with the hotel owner, and the t-shirt scene.

A Mistake - well actually no.

This DVD was sent to me by mistake, I had never heard of it, but I decided to watch it anyway.

I was actually pleasantly suprised by the story, what it was and how it was constructed.

Not a blockbuster, or a classic, but well worth a watch as a bit of an alternative film.

Disappointing

I felt this would have worked better as a TV series or one off serial. The characters in the last two stories seemed a bit forced and flat.

I like the premise for this film but was disappointed with the result as Jarmusch is normally better than this.

Interesting...

Quite a 'hip' film which doesn't go anywhere but has a lot of fun doing it. I thought the last section (the film is split into 3 stories) was the weakest; it was rather unnecessary to try and tie the disparate stories together, although admittedly the film doesn't exert much effort in doing this. Also, Joe Strummer was rubbish. Overall though, a pleasing and often funny collection of strange, purposefully inconsequential stories.