The Limits of Control

[zedz]

When I first saw this, I pegged it as a very stylish, lightweight shaggy dog story, but this time around I liked it a lot more, and was much more aware of the visual patterns running through the film and tying isolated characters together. The lazy drift and comic repetitions seemed more charged and pointed as they coalesced into a thoughtful art-vs-commerce parable, and in that context the film’s many referential in-jokes (the “Le Boxeur” matchboxes are my favourite) and showboat casting serve as a kind of supportive petition to Jarmusch’s key message.