While many of us film folk who attend Cannes are reminded of Jim Jarmusch‘s presence on the Croisette every time we sit in on a screening for a Directors’ Fortnight (his Camera d’Or winning film as his 1984 Stranger Than Paradise is part of official montage of the section’s official trailer), this year is a true celebration of the filmmaker as he arrives with not one, but a pair of offerings. Gimme Danger (docu on The Stooges) and Paterson count as his 13th and 14th feature films. His history on the Croisette is vast: 1986’s Down By Law, 1989’s Mystery Train, 1993’s short Coffee and Cigarettes, 1995’s Dead Man, 1999’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, the Grand Prix winning 2005 film Broken Flowers and 2013’s Only Lovers Left Alive have all been presented in competition. So how did the tale of a bus driver from Jersey do? Extremely well.
Described by A.V Club’s Mike D’Angelo as “may be the most existential movie Jim Jarmusch has ever made,” Variety’s Owen Gleiberman concedes that the film and perhaps filmmaker are living in the past, but Indiewire’s Eric Kohn suggests in the “filmmaker who continues to surprise and innovate while remaining true to his singular voice.” Starring
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