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Masatoshi Nagase, Youki Kudoh, Nicoletta Braschi, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Cinqué Lee ... see more see more... , Elizabeth Bracco , Rufus Thomas , Joe Strummer , Rick Aviles , Sy Richardson , Tom Noonan , Stephen Jones , Steve Buscemi , Vondie Curtis-Hall , Tom Waits , Richard Boes , Joshua Elvis Hoch , Karen Longwell , Jodie Markell , Rockets Redglare , Sara Driver , Jim Stark , D'Army Bailey , Calvin Brown Jr. , Darryl Daniel , Reginald Freeman , Pat Hoch , William Hoch , Winston Hoffman , Royale Johnson , Charles Ponder , Beverly Prye , Lowell Roberts , Marvell Thomas , Elan Yaari

Written and directed by the ever-unpredictable Jim Jarmusch, Mystery Train is comprised of three short anecdotes involving foreign tourists in Tennessee. Each story is set in a fleabag Memphis hotel w... read more read more...hich has been redressed as a "tribute" to Elvis Presley. Story one involves two Japanese tourists whose devotion to '50s American rock music blinds them to everything around them. Story two finds eternal victim Luisa (Nicoletta Braschi) sharing a room with stone-broke Dee Dee (Elizabeth Bracco) and having her problems solved by a spectral vision of the King. And story three offers the further misadventures of Dee Dee, her no-good boyfriend, and her dysfunctional family. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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86% liked it

9,625 ratings

Critics

84% liked it

25 critics

R, 1 hr. 55 min.

Directed by: Jim Jarmusch

Release Date: November 17, 1989

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DVD Release Date: March 28, 2000

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Jun & Mitsuko Far away from Yokohama Mystery Train Mystery Train
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Flixster Reviews (581)

  • SirPant
    November 16, 2011
    SirPant
    Three stories, each story interweaving with one another, an international cast including several musicians (the brilliant and sorely missed Joe Strummer and the fantastic Screamin' Jay Hawkins who was the invisible star of Jarmusch's first film) and a killer soundtrack, not to me... read morention Elvis's ghost. I wonder if Quentin Tarantino has ever seen it? Jim Jarmusch = Cool. Night on Earth's elder brother and an inspiration to many great films.
  • fb1664868775
    October 28, 2011
    fb1664868775
    Another classic from Jarmusch with the backdrop of Memphis and featuring great performances especially from Mr. Screamin' Jay Hawkins.
  • ceWEBrity
    September 11, 2007
    ceWEBrity
    Mystery Train was capable of much better. It's divided into thirds; the first portion is the best, far and away. The Japanese couple are the richest characters, have the best dialogue, and experience the most interesting situations. The second portion is uninvolving, with a coupl... read moree of gleaming moments to be taken from the chaff. The third is just dumb.

    The fact that these three stories overlap time is a purposeless gimmick - something to tie these incongruous tales together. Ideally, you'd do best just watching the first forty minutes and shutting the movie off.
  • mjgildea
    November 22, 2006
    mjgildea
    Has its moments, but not the best movie ever made.
  • fb1144932598
    August 17, 2011
    fb1144932598
    A simple tale, told in three parts, of three groups of people who converge on the same flea-bag hotel in Memphis. The characters are eccentric, and the three tales are held together by one comically executed event in the early morning hours. This film is worth it just to see Scre... read moreamin' Jay Hawkins as the desk clerk at the hotel, but there are other musicians who make appearances as well in this homage to the Memphis music scene. Even a young Steve Buscemi makes an appearance here. The humorous moments are subtle, and the story is told with a certain amount of pathos that steadily draws the viewer in until we actually care what happens to these people. Okay, maybe not for the clowns in the third segment, but for most of them, anyway. A lot of the area where this was filmed has changed since then, so this can be seen as preserving a bit of the history of Memphis as well. One of Jim Jarmusch's early efforts, it is a well crafted film and one this viewer enjoyed.
  • ryguy4738
    November 18, 2011
    ryguy4738
    9.2/10

    For a film directed by Jim Jarmusch, "Mystery Train" is surprisingly accessible and pleasantly easy to take. It is an ambitious, episodic art film that recounts the tragedy, the comedy, and the spirituality of culture that are included in the musings of many on one part... read moreicular night. As a film that takes three different yet not-so-different stories to create a whole; it's not a particularly shocking revelation that it was written and directed by Jarmusch, yet I find it appealing enough to be admired by a large variety of film aficionados; something that most of the filmmaker's films might indeed lack, but only time will tell. As for accessibility amongst those raised on blockbusters and main-stream movies, I can't say the same.

    All three stories take place in downtown Memphis; that legendary town in Tennessee. I suppose each story is linked by the Arcade Hotel; where just about every character from each of the three separate tales stays at one point in their respective odysseys. And each journey is one unlike those of standard film fare; most of them don't have a moral point, but a point nonetheless. Jarmusch just prefers to force us to stand back and look at his film for a while before we see the big picture; and often times there is one. Other times...well, let's just say the filmmaker's ambition goes to his head.

    The first story - titled "Far from Yokohama" - opens on two Japanese tourists/lovers by the names of Mitsuko and Jun. They take a train to Memphis for the sole sake of some sight-seeing. We learn that this is but another stop in their trek across America; I imagine an entire film could be made from their exploits elsewhere, but Memphis is the location as well as the soul of the movie, so Memphis is all that matters. Anyways, I'm getting ahead of myself; Mitsuko and Jun make travel by foot, carrying a large red suitcase with a hand-per-person (a funny sight indeed), until they arrive at the Arcade Hotel at night after a long day of walking and visiting old recording studios (in particular, they visit Sun Records and take an exhausting tour). The female in the partnership (Mitsuko) enjoys staying in the town because she is an Elvis fan from overseas; while Jun is less enthusiastic, but still (at least) somewhat supportive of his partner's interests.

    The second story: "A Ghost". This segment concerns an Italian woman (Nicoletta Braschi) who has flown in to America from Rome, stopping at Memphis if only for a little while. She decides to spend a long, potentially torturous night there; which begins with an entertaining tale told by a stranger (the always wonderful Tom Noonan), and ends with her checking into, you guessed it, the Arcade Hotel. The twist is that the Italian chooses to share a room with a talky, eccentric woman named Dee Dee, who speaks of her boyfriend (who has just left her) and a good number of other things in life that have been troubling her as of now. One of the film's key moments of real brilliance is when Dee Dee unknowingly talks the Italian woman's ear off, while the latter tries to get to sleep in a polite matter. I laughed, but not because it was, at all, hilarious. I think I laughed because I understood the humanity in the scene and was open to absorb it in all its craftily-written glory.

    And now we are at the third and final story, titled "Lost in Space" (and yes, that title is a reference to that popular (?) 60's television series of the same name. You probably don't remember it. But Jarmusch certainly does). This concluding chapter of the story is all about the ultimate trio of drunkards; starting with Johnny (Joe Strummer) and ending with his "brother-in-law" Charlie (Steve Buscemi); smack-dab in the middle is Will Robinson (Rick Aviles), whose name is titular to this grand finale. You might be wondering what they do in this part of the film, and I will gladly tell you. Johnny turns out to be the *now* ex-boyfriend of Dee Dee (from the middle child of this story), and we first see him at a bar with a friend as he attempts to drown his sorrows in alcohol. All goes wrong when he fails to handle his liquor and the drink goes to his head; prompting him to whip out a gun in a drunken rage, which irritates and worries those around him. Will and Charlie come to the bar, they pick him up, drive him away, and all I can say is that by the end of the night, chaos has ensued, and they're back at "that" hotel. Come on; you know which one I am referring to.

    It's as hard to see someone not liking "Mystery Train" just as it is seeing someone fully access it in all its quiet, slow-moving, but undeniably artistic beauty. I found something rather entrancing about Jarmasch's stylistics when it came to his direction; there was no fancy cinematography, effects, or fancy...anything. As an independent film, the filmmaker behind it is forced to resort to that which they already have; and that's exactly what happens here, and it works to rather glorious effect. The characters in this film walk a lot, talk a lot, and in some instances, they even drive. They travel by road and more often, by side-walk. And I liked the characters too; which is especially beneficial to the quality of the film especially when it's all about the people involved in it and what they do. By the end, a plethora of different emotions shall be elicited; but I know one in particular that stuck with me throughout my viewing experience. Happiness.

    A film of great humor, themes of interaction amongst the many different ethnicities, and of course, Elvis; "The King" himself, "Mystery Train" is whimsical and impossible for a guy like me not to love. In spite of its slow pacing, which shall in itself divide audiences all over the place, I enjoyed (and savored) every moment of the ride and felt that, by the end, I formally knew places like the hotel and the streets that each character walks past every now and then. Such a feeling of familiarity is rich; and we must preserve it. I loved "Mystery Train" for its attitude, its style, its director, its writing, and its study of the world we live in as well as how philosophy, race, and even music can affect how we attempt to endure the troubles that confront us within it. I hope that Jarmusch's film finds an audience and fast; because it definitely deserves it. Unlike many films of such ambition, originality, and charm; this is one train ride that you'll want to take again and again and again; possibly until you tire of it and want to give it a break. But every train is at least worth riding once.
  • smootysveen
    August 7, 2010
    smootysveen
    What does Screamin' Jay Hawkins say when he comments on Cinque Lee's hat?
  • robfearon
    June 18, 2009
    robfearon
    Mystery Train insinuates itself into the memory and lingers on. It's one of the best anthology films I've seen.
  • divinetrash
    January 18, 2008
    divinetrash
    The films is absolute and complete Jarmusch, but my interest in its characters was hard to sustain after the first segment. Still, very funny.
  • kingmob6
    October 9, 2010
    kingmob6
    This film holds tons of fond memories for me, as it was one of the first 'indie' films I was ever introduced to, and it still holds up amazingly well. Filled with Jarmusch's standard collection of oddballs and puzzling average joe styled situations, the film is a great little sl... read moreice of life, telling a tale about a brief 24 hours in Memphis.

    Great stuff.

    Recommended.

View All Mystery Train Reviews

Critic Reviews

Philip Martin
July 3, 2010
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

...has the same weird beauty as a Van Morrison vocal, a mannered eccentricity that somehow cracks open and lays bear the stuttering, fervid heart of what could have been banal material. Full Review

Sean Axmaker
June 27, 2010
Sean Axmaker, Seanax.com

... his unhurried rhythms give the deadpan mix of quirky Americana, pop culture, and cinematic poetry a quietly lived-in quality... Full Review

Christopher Long
June 22, 2010
Christopher Long, Movie Metropolis

Jarmuschs films are usually about the gradual accretion of small details than the articulation of a conventional narrative. Full Review

Matthew Sorrento
June 22, 2010
Matthew Sorrento, Bright Lights Film Journal

(O)nce it plants itself within, it remains a vivid cultural memory. Full Review

James Kendrick
June 21, 2010
James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk

Jarmusch finds visual poetry in the run-down, the ignored, and the decrepit, especially via the use of neon colors cutting into the darkness and the gray Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
June 18, 2010
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

The humor is here. It's so deadpan that it sneaks up on you. Full Review

Anton Bitel
January 4, 2009
Anton Bitel, Eye for Film

[in] Jarmusch's strange elegy for faded Americana... nostalgia reigns, love is lost, death is never far away, and everything is haunted by the ghost of Elvis, "young and beautiful looking, like in 1956". Full Review

Emanuel Levy
January 29, 2007
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Jarmusch's mildly entertaining film tells three stories that take place at the same time but are told sequentially (end-to-end) rather than through intercutting, which is Hollywood's prevalent norm. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
February 25, 2006
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Brilliantly witty and keenly observant of the social scene. Full Review

Dan Lybarger
October 2, 2005
Dan Lybarger, Nitrate Online

Intriguing, if hit-or-miss comedy from Jarmusch.

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Mystery Train Trivia

  • " She was very groovy. Your father loved her very much. If there was one other cat in this world who could have loved her and treated her as well as your dad, well it was me. But unfortunatly for yours truly, that train has sailed."  Answer »
  • In "Amelie", what did Nino collected in train stations, in order to try and solve a mystery?  Answer »
  • Name the director to the following films, Permanent Vacation, Mystery Train?  Answer »
  • Which of these musicians did NOT have a role in the indi-film "Mystery Train" by director Jim Jarmusch?  Answer »
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