Broken Flowers (2005)

Director:

Jim Jarmusch

Writers:

Jim Jarmusch (written by)
Bill Raden (inspired by an idea from) ...

Release Date:

26 August 2005 (Iceland)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

Sometimes life brings some strange surprises.

Plot:

As the devoutly single Don Johnston is dumped by his latest girlfriend, he receives an anonymous pink letter informing him that he has a son who may be looking for him. The situation causes Don to examine his relationships with women instead of moving on to the next one, and he embarks on a cross-country search for his old flames who might possess clues to the mystery at hand.

Plot Keywords:

Flowers | Pink | Letter | Friend | Neighbor

Awards:

4 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Bill Murray	...	Don Johnston
Julie Delpy	...	Sherry
Heather Simms	...	Mona (as Heather Alicia Simms)
Brea Frazier	...	Rita
Jarry Fall	...	Winston and Mona's Kid (as Jarry)
Korka Fall	...	Winston and Mona's Kid
Saul Holland	...	Winston and Mona's Kid (as Saul)
Zakira Holland	...	Winston and Mona's Kid
Niles Lee Wilson	...	Winston and Mona's Kid
Jeffrey Wright	...	Winston
Meredith Patterson	...	Flight Attendant
Jennifer Rapp	...	Girl on Bus
Nicole Abisinio	...	Girl on Bus
Ryan Donowho	...	Young Man on Bus
Alexis Dziena	...	Lolita

Also Known As:

Dead Flowers (USA) (working title)
Untitled Jim Jarmusch Project (USA) (working title)
Flores rotas (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Сломанные цветы (Russia) [ru]
Broken Flowers (Poland) [pl]
Broken Flowers (Germany) [de]
Broken Flowers - Blumen für die Ex (Germany) (TV title) [de]
Broken flowers - särkyneet kukat (Finland) [fi]
Flores Partidas (Brazil) [pt]
Hervadó virágok (Hungary) [hu]
Slomljeno cvece (Serbia) [sr]
Tsakismena louloudia (Greece) [el]
Zlomené kvetiny (Czech Republic) [cs]
Zlomené kvety (Slovakia) [sk]

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some graphic nudity and brief drug use.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | Australia:M | Norway:A | Finland:K-7 | Ireland:15A | Singapore:M18 | Hong Kong:IIA | Germany:o.Al. | Sweden:11 | Belgium:KT | Netherlands:MG6 | Brazil:14 | Mexico:B15 | Singapore:NC-16 (edited version) | USA:R (#41745) | Malaysia:U | France:U | Argentina:13 | Hungary:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Canada:14A | Iceland:L | South Korea:18 | Malaysia:18SX | New Zealand:M | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Canada:G (Québec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Hudson River Stages, Yonkers, New York, USA

Company:

Focus Features

Trivia:

Usually, bit part players with no spoken lines in this movie are listed in the credits. Normally only speaking parts are listed.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Don speaks with the receptionist at Dr Markowski's office, the angle of the laptop relative to the table changes repeatedly between shots.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Sherry: I pretty much have all my stuff.
[picks up mail]
Sherry: Looks like you got a love letter from one of your other girlfriends.

Movie Connections:

References Dolemite (1975)

Soundtrack:

Playboy Cha-Cha

Liked it

Jarmusch aims for the mainstream.

Murray visits his ex-girlfriends to find out which of them sent him a letter.

Similar in structure to The Swimmer - at the first people are friendly but gradually turn nasty. Watchable movie with many good scenes - sometimes you feel sorry for Murray but other times you feel sorry for the women he visits. The best scene has Murray visiting a nervous childless woman and her husband - very nice couple. Similar to many independent American movies of recent years - but more enjoyable.

Broken Flowers is worth a look.