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The Limits of Control (2009)
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Reviews Counted:91
Fresh:36
Rotten:55
Average Rating:4.9/10
Consensus: A minimalist exercise in not much of anything, The Limits of Control is a tedious viewing experience with little reward.
Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: In spite of the title, THE LIMITS OF CONTROL constantly reveals the controlling hand of its creator, the indie icon Jim Jarmusch. The film follows Jarmusch regular Isaach de Bankole as he ambles... In spite of the title, THE LIMITS OF CONTROL constantly reveals the controlling hand of its creator, the indie icon Jim Jarmusch. The film follows Jarmusch regular Isaach de Bankole as he ambles through various parts of Spain on an ambiguous criminal mission. Credited as the "Lone Man," de Bankole encounters a series of oddly disguised accomplices and absorbs their one-sided philosophical musings, all the while piecing together the nature of his assignment. This narrative sounds more compelling in summary than it is on screen, but if you are seeing a Jarmusch picture in hopes of a scintillating story, then you are as confused as the characters from his more memorable films. The sole disappointment of this film is that, despite the overwhelming strangeness of the action (or lack thereof), none of the characters display any confusion or uncertainty, as they assuredly assess the events and still find time to practice tai chi and pontificate about music, film, science, and painting. The film is rigorously structured: each encounter invokes a definitive theme that clicks firmly into place by the conclusion. The individual scenes are entirely enjoyable, as a white-blond Tilda Swinton discusses Welles and Hitchcock, and John Hurt rasps about the depiction of Spanish bohemians in art and literature. Despite Jarmusch’s domineering presence, it is the brilliant work of his collaborators, particularly cinematographer Christopher Doyle and editor Jay Rabinowitz, that shimmers in the memory of the viewer after the final shot. Doyle makes every line, curve, and diagonal in his frames vibrate with hints of radiant significance, and his ethereal images of the Almerian landscape often draw our attention from the artificial metaphysical dialogue. Jarmusch fans will be delighted by this perplexing metaphor of a film, which aims to symbolize and summarize the whole of existence through its myriad parts. [More]
Starring: Isaach de Bankolé, Bill Murray, Gael Garcia Bernal, Tilda Swinton
Starring: Isaach de Bankolé, Bill Murray, Gael Garcia Bernal, Tilda Swinton, Youki Kudoh, John Hurt, Alex Descas, Jean-François Stévenin, Luis Tosar, Paz de la Huerta
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Screenwriter: Hiam Abbass, Jim Jarmusch
Producer: Stacey E. Smith, Gretchen McGowan
Studio: Focus Features
Reviews for The Limits of Control
Watching The Limits of Control and thinking about The Limits of Control are two very different endeavors. Both have their pleasures and neither is simple.
This enigmatic journey is beautifully photographed by Christopher Doyle, and for a while it's intriguing and amusing in its very offhand way. But soon you realise that there's really nothing here.
The Limits of Control is hard work for the audience yet by degrees rewarding, captivating and fascinating.
I was carried along, delighted with the sound and imagery, and happy to play Jarmusch's mind games. If cinema is like that for you -- sound and image first, story second -- then this film could pleasure you as well.
Jarmusch has decided to make a film composed of things he likes for a variety of reasons, few of which have anything to do with the art of telling a story.
It just becomes so repetitive and so self-conscious, so self-referential and film referential, and I finally ended up feeling that this film was way too clever for me.
The most minimal film yet from Jim Jarmusch and while it’s fascinating to a degree it becomes somewhat tiresome eventually when you realise it’s not really going anywhere.
Cooler than you'll ever be, and more irritating, Jarmusch's star-infused indie overload strives to divide audiences. Mission accomplished.
A filmmaker who is always cerebral and occasionally very soulful, Jarmusch -- fascinating even at his most tepid -- could do better to have a lot more red blood flowing through his recent work and a little less ice water.
You could say it's a movie version of a su-do-ku puzzle, which contains a series of small puzzles that make up one larger puzzle
There's a wonderful sense of intrigue throughout as we jump into the skin of Isaach De Bankolé's Lone Man protagonist as he follows obtuse clues that point him towards his unknown quest
While some will find Jarmusch's tale (if one can call the dialogue-poor film a tale) pretentious, others will adore its artistic sensibilities.
Jim Jarmusch takes no prisoners, especially from his audience, in his quest for art house glory.
Every time something seems to be happening, Jarmusch tips us gently back into sleep mode. It’s enough to make you long for a sip of one of the countless espressos the nameless man enjoys.
This is not a hollow motion picture, just an inert one, displaying a puzzling atlas of abstraction that seems sincere enough; there's just not a single reason to care about any of it.
The movie's main pleasure lies in the early scenes, which mix the filmmaker's familiar deadpan humor with an Antonioni-like sense of arid emptiness and conundrum.
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February 26, 2008:
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