| Coffee and Cigarettes | |
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 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Jim Jarmusch |
| Written by | Jim Jarmusch |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | |
| Edited by |
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Production companies | |
| Distributed by | MGM Distribution Co. |
Release dates |
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Running time | 96 minutes |
| Countries | United States Japan Italy |
| Languages | English French |
| Box office | $7.9 million[1] |
Coffee and Cigarettes is a 2003independentanthology film written and directed byJim Jarmusch. The film consists of eleven standalone scenes. Themes are often comedic and depressed, and share coffee and cigarettes as a common thread.
The film is composed of acomic series of short vignettes shot inblack and white built on one another to create a cumulative effect, as the characters discuss things such ascaffeine popsicles,Paris in the 1920s, and the use ofnicotine as aninsecticide – all while sitting around drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes. The theme of the film is absorption in the obsessions, joys, and addictions of life, and there are many common threads between vignettes, such as theTesla coil, medical knowledge, the suggestion that coffee and cigarettes don't make for a healthy meal (generally lunch), cousins, The Lees (Cinqué and Joie, and a mention ofSpike Lee), delirium, miscommunication, musicians, the similarities between musicianship and medical skill, industrial music, acknowledged fame, and the idea of drinking coffee before sleeping in order to have fast dreams. In each of the segments of the film, the common motif of alternating black and white tiles can be seen in some fashion. The visual use of black and white relates to the theme of interpersonal contrasts, as each vignette features two people who disagree completely yet manage to sit amicably at the same table.[citation needed]
This is the original 1986 shortCoffee and Cigarettes withRoberto Benigni andSteven Wright having a conversation about coffee and cigarettes. Steven tells Roberto about his coffee ideas, such as freezing it into "caffeine Popsicles" for kids, and how he likes to drink coffee right before he goes to sleep so he can dream faster "like a camera on thoseIndy 500 cars". Roberto does not understand anything he says but is entertained to listen. They experiment with switching chairs, but decide to switch back again. Steven suddenly remembers he has a dentist appointment that he is afraid to go to, but has to. Roberto happily volunteers and goes instead of him.
Originally the 1989 shortCoffee and Cigarettes, Memphis Version (akaCoffee and Cigarettes II) segment featuredJoie Lee andCinqué Lee as the titular twins andSteve Buscemi as Danny the barman who expounds on his theory onElvis Presley's evil twin. The scene also features a recounting of the urban legend that Elvis Presley made racist comments about African Americans during a magazine interview.[2]
Cinqué Lee also appears in "Jack Shows Meg his Tesla Coil" later in the film.
Filmed in 1993 as the short titledCoffee and Cigarettes – Somewhere in California (also known asCoffee and Cigarettes III) it won theShort Film Palme d'Or at theCannes Film Festival.[3] In this segment, musiciansIggy Pop andTom Waits smoke cigarettes to celebrate that they quit smoking, drink some coffee and make awkward conversation. At various points each musician remarks that the other is not on the jukebox, though Iggy Pop's music can be heard on a jukebox in another segment later in the film.
Joseph Rigano andVinny Vella have a conversation over coffee about the dangers of smoking. The silent Vinny Vella Jr. also appears to beg his father for money, which is given in exchange for affection, which is not provided.
Renée French (played by herself) drinks coffee while looking through a gun magazine.E. J. Rodríguez plays the waiter, who is eager to be of service. He initially approaches her to serve more coffee, to which she reacts by saying "I had the right color, right temperature, it was just right". After that, he comes back several times, hesitates, and leaves. He seems intent on striking up a conversation with her.
Alex Descas andIsaach De Bankolé are a couple of friends who meet and talk over some coffee and cigarettes. Alex has no problems, or so he answers to Isaach's repeated questioning. At the end of the scene, Alex takes out a pair of dice and rolls three sets of doubles. It could be assumed that he has a gambling problem but to him it appears to be a non-issue. Despite this, he doesn't roll the dice in front of his friend.
Cate Blanchett plays herself and a fictional and non-famous cousin named Shelly, whom she meets over some coffee in the lounge of a hotel. There is no smoking in the lounge, as the waiter informs Shelly (but not until Cate is gone). Shelly tells Cate about her boyfriend, Lee, who is in a band. She describes the music style as hard industrial, similar to the band Iggy describes. Cate tells Shelly she looks forward to meeting "Lou" someday. Cate is made to feel awkward and uncomfortable by Shelly's constant envious remarks about how she perceives Cate's life and attitude.
This short featuresJack andMeg White of the bandThe White Stripes having some coffee and cigarettes. They play themselves, although the scene seems to perpetuate the band's former pretense that they are indeed siblings. Jack shows Meg hisTesla coil that he says he built himself and waxes intellectual on the achievements ofNikola Tesla. In the beginning, Jack seems upset that Meg doesn't share his excitement, and it takes Meg some coaxing to get Jack to agree to show Meg his Tesla coil. He introduces the line, "Nikola Tesla perceived the earth to be a conductor of acoustical resonance." Cinqué Lee plays a waiter in this segment. In the end, the coil breaks, and Meg and the Waiter offer suggestions as to why it might be broken. Finally Meg says something that Jack seems to agree to, and he leaves to "go home and check it out". Meg clinks her coffee cup to produce a ringing noise, pauses, says "Earth as a conductor of acoustical resonance" and clinks her coffee cup to produce the noise again; she looks pensively out into the distance before a cut to black. Early during the segment, "Down on the Street" by Iggy Pop's bandThe Stooges is played on the jukebox in the background.
British actorsAlfred Molina andSteve Coogan have a conversation over some tea. (Coogan offers Molina a French cigarette, but Molina saves his for later.) Molina is a very enthusiastic fan of Coogan's, who contrarily is very uninterested at their meeting and barely manages to hide this. Molina excitedly shares with him research he came across, learning that they are distant cousins, and proposes a friendship or show business project to capitalize on this. Steve Coogan still remains evasive, lightening up only when an attractive female fan recognizes him. He later tries to make up excuses to keep from ever having to hear from Alfred Molina again, and then clumsily tries to reverse this when he overhears Molina get a call from good friendSpike Jonze. But it is too late and Molina, disappointed, leaves Coogan with the bill. Although the scene is set in LA, the segment was actually shot in Brooklyn at Galapagos, Williamsburg.
Hip-hop artists (and cousins)GZA andRZA of theWu-Tang Clan drink naturally caffeine-freeherbal tea and have a conversation with the waiter,Bill Murray, about the dangers of caffeine and nicotine. During this conversation, GZA makes a reference to how he would drink much coffee before going to bed so his dreams would "whip by" similar to the camera-shots at theIndy 500, very similar to the same reference that Steven Wright did in the first segment. Murray requests that GZA and RZA keep his identity secret, while GZA and RZA inform Murray about nontraditional methods to relieve his smoker's hack.
William "Bill" Rice andTaylor Mead spend their coffee break having a nostalgic conversation, whileJanet Baker singing "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen" fromMahler'sRückert-Lieder appears from nowhere. William Rice repeats Jack White's line, "Nikola Tesla perceived the earth as a conductor of acoustical resonance." It is possible to interpret the relevance of this line to the constant recurrent themes throughout the seemingly unconnected segments.
On the review aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, the film has a 63% approval rating based on 122 reviews, and an average rating of 6.1/10. The site's critical consensus states: "Episodes vary in quality, but overall this talky film is quirkily engaging."[4] OnMetacritic, the film has aweighted average score of 65 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[5]
Several reviewers praised the film's handling of the relationship between celebrities and fame.[6][7] William Thomas ofEmpire delighted in the "quirky conversations" and "almost nostalgic air", but felt the film suffered from an occasional lack of focus and an uneven structure.[8]Roger Ebert commended the film's tempo, writing that "none of these 11 vignettes overstays its welcome, although a few seem to lose their way".[9] Philip French ofThe Guardian criticized several segments, but praised the three in which "people appear as versions of themselves ... Iggy Pop meeting Tom Waits; Cate Blanchett (in both roles) having a reunion with an envious cousin; Alfred Molina taking tea with Steve Coogan in Hollywood".[10]
| Award | Date | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeonju International Film Festival | May 2, 2004 | Audience Award | Coffee and Cigarettes | Won | [11] |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association | December 11, 2004 | Best Supporting Actress | Cate Blanchett (also forThe Aviator) | Runner-up | [12] |
| National Society of Film Critics | January 9, 2005 | Best Supporting Actress | Runner-up | [13] | |
| Vancouver Film Critics Circle | February 20, 2005 | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated | [14] | |
| Independent Spirit Awards | February 26, 2005 | Best Supporting Female | Cate Blanchett | Nominated | [15] |
| Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film | March 20, 2005 | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated | [16] | |
| Best Supporting Actor | Alfred Molina | Nominated | |||
| Best Cast | Coffee and Cigarettes | Nominated | |||
| Russian National Movie Awards | 2005 | Best Independent Movie | Nominated | [17] | |
| Sun in a Net Awards | 2006 | Best Foreign Language Film | Nominated | [18] |
But then 1992's "Somewhere in California," which won the Cannes Film Festival's short-film Palme D'Or, offers the delicious spectacle of [Iggy Pop] and [Tom Waits] meeting in some remote dumpy bar, with Iggy playing the shaggy, eager-to-please puppy while the edgy Waits finds ways to take constant umbrage.