Limits of Control (2009)

This Jim Jarmusch film is a sparse meditation on spaciousness. It's a quiet story of a mysterious loner completing a criminal job in Barcelona, Spain. Isaach De Bankole has been featured in other Jarmusch films, most notably Coffee & Cigarettes (2003). A few eccentric characters pass through....Bill Murray, John Hurt, Tilda Swinton (I adore her!).

"For every way in, there is another way out," states the film tagline. A story of little action, it is like being dropped off in a desolate foreign landscape...lonely and beautiful. Find out more about the filmmaker in the DVD behind-the-scenes extra feature. "It's hard to get lost if you don't know where you are going," says Jarmusch, who is as interesting as his films.

His book, The Golden Rules of Filming, sums up his philosophy...

"Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is nonexistent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery — celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: It’s not where you take things from — it’s where you take them to."

See upcoming post about his cable television series, Fishing with John.