Mystery Train
Black-and-white cinematography seemed to be the trademark of Jim Jarmusch’s films. But Mystery Train, his fourth feature film, was shot in color, with Robby Müller once again behind the camera. It is a three-part story about people who are down on their luck, full of deadpan humor. Featuring a small role for Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, the singer of “I Put a Spell on You,” whom Jarmusch admires.
In Far From Yokohama, the Japanese couple Mitsuko and Jun, obsessed with Elvis Presley, are on a pilgrimage through Memphis, the place where Elvis lived, died, and is buried. Eventually, they end up at the seedy Arcade Hotel. The Italian widow Luisa, the main character in Ghost, is in Memphis to bring her husband’s coffin back to Italy. At the Arcade Hotel, she shares a room with Dee Dee, who has just broken up with her English boyfriend Johnny. In Lost in Space, it is this same Johnny and two of his mates who rob a liquor store, during which the clerk is shot. To hide from the police, they take refuge at the Arcade Hotel. That night, there is (too) much drinking.
