FOR A LARGE, HAPPY SLICE OF LIFE, STEP ON BOARD THE "MYSTERY TRAIN"

If you had nothing but the DVD edition of this film that I own, and more specifically the blurb on the back to go on when researching this particular film, you might be a tad confused. The DVD cover explains that the film successfully combines a Japanese ghost story, an Italian romantic-comedy, a Brit that causes utter confusion and trouble (nothing new there then!) and Elvis Presly. And although this is, admittedly, a mighty confusing concoction, it is a very neat summary of what goes on in this film. See, this is the beauty of films like this. Life, real life, actually does successfully combine elements like this. It’s just that we are often so lost in our own strand of the story that we see nothing but what surrounds us personally and not the big picture. Mystery Train is not only one of the single funniest films I have ever had the pleasure of watching, it is also a rather stunning “slice of life” with a slightly deeper message hidden down below…
Our story takes place in Memphis, Tennessee. A young Japanese couple disembarks from a train; they are here to sightsee; the young man’s hair and dexterity with his Zippo lighter alone tells us what great fans they are of a certain lost age. Sun studios, Graceland and the excitement of actually being there engulfs them both; our young hero however is, as was anyone worth knowing back in The King’s day, ultra-cool. His girlfriend, like a lot of women I know, accuses him of being cold and unfeeling. After a day’s sightseeing they settle into a small hotel in the town center for the night before continuing. At just about the same moment, a young woman from Italy (Nicoletta Brasci) who is accompanying the body of a loved one back to Italy has found out, much to her distress, that she has to stay in Memphis overnight. She finds a small hotel in the center of town, where a young woman is in the middle of a fight with the hotel’s night clerk who only has double rooms left and refuses to have her stay in one at half price. The young Italian will agree to be her roommate and will then have to listen to endless stories about her English boyfriend, nicknamed Elvis, how they broke up and how she’s leaving him and leaving town… Before she has a strange brush with a ghost that is… Lastly, again at the same time Elvis (not the singer, the afore mentioned British boyfriend played by the ultra-mega charismatic lead singer of The Clash, Joe Strummer) is in a bar, getting very drunk and waving a gun around. It will be up to his colleague Will Robinson (played by Rick Aviles, who is not best-known for lead parts but who you will have seen in smaller parts in classics such as Carlito’s Way, The Godfather III and Ghost) and his “brother in law” Charlie (played by Steve Buscemi, another “staple” of Jarmusch’s – not that I am complaining) to calm him down and get him out of trouble… Well, that’s the plan, anyway. The night is preparing for many strange stories and adventures, and they will come together in the strangest, most unexpected way…
The first thing I noticed about this film is that the location was, in fact, the same as Down By Law. You may think that this would take away from the feel of the film but in fact it does not. Because the whole point of the film is a sort of permanence of locations. We wander round and around the streets of Memphis, crossing the same streets and sometimes even copying the same shots as a couple of minutes ago while the story changes and advances… This in, itself, is a rather beautiful thing: I sometimes stop to wonder at how many people in total must have walked on the same streets as I have… Mind-boggling thought, no? This is also the ultimate “strands of life” film, because the three stories do come together in the end, but ironically, neither of them are aware of it… Another funny little quirk of living on this planet; for all you know, the stranger next to you might be a potential best friend or the love of your life, you may actually never know…
Jarmusch makes no bones about the fact that this film is about music. Good music, from back in the day… The soundtrack will have the toes of viewers of a certain generation tapping, think Elvis, Roy Orbison, Charlie Parker… Yeah, you know what I am talking about… And lastly, but by no means on earth least, I must give a standing ovation to one of the best comic duos I have ever seen. See, Joe Strummer is not the only musician on board. The night clerk at the hotel (where, you will doubtless have guessed, all three “stories” end up) is played by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (best known for his classic tune “I put a spell on you”) and the bellhop assisting him is played by Cinqué Lee. Apart from the obvious practical part they play in advancing the story, their various interactions and conversations are inserted into various places in the story (like small side dishes between main courses if you will) and constitute some of the categorically funniest dialogues I have witnessed in my 28 years on earth. I promise you, remembering them alone still has me giggling. They are so funny that sometimes we see the same dialogue twice (remember that all three stories are occurring at once, so sometimes as the information we gain about the “background” puts a whole new slant on a dialogue we thought was something completely different) but that doesn’t matter, it’s STILL funny…
In short, another touching and sensitive slice of life from Jarmusch; yes there is a lot to think deeply about, but at the same time there are plenty of instances to laugh, just like life itself… Watch this one if you watch none of the others… Mind you, I have a feeling you will be converted after watching this one anyway… =)