Broken Flowers (Bill Murray)

[Lynn7]

I really liked this movie- it ended in a way that made me go back and watch the last few scenes again, so I'm glad I saw it on DVD. Bill Murray's real life son has a brief role in it. If anyone's seen it, I'd love to hear your take on the ending.

[MacReady]

Wait, wait.

You post in nonpolitical forums?

[JohnTheHenchman]

MacReady, was that really neccesary? Grow up. I don't see you spending much time elsewhere either.

Lynn, there's a theory that it was his girlfriend that wrote the letter. I really just don't know but it is interesting to think about.

[Lynn7]

Have you seen it John? I didn't think it was a fake letter.



Spoilers





I rewound it to watch the end again (with subtitles on) and when the kid goes by in the beat up car (Bill Murray's real life son Homer) the kid looks at Murray's character way too closely to be a coincindence and he is dressed like the people he saw at the farm house-kind of raggedy and hippyish. On the car radio there is Ethiopian Jazz playing which is the same music that Don Johnston listened to throughout the movie. The subtitles identify the music as such. Also, that is where the typewriter was (at the farmhouse) and how many people have a typewriter these days (and in pink!)
I just don't think it was his girlfriend. She was too put out with him over the letter. And he really didn't care much anyway except his friend made him go after the kid.But thorugh the process he discovered a lot of interesting things about his life which I loved. Didn't you think the characterizations were excellently done? I thought they were all so funny- even the people he happened to see along the way like the girls on the bus or the people sitting next to him on the planes! I really liked the observations that the director was able to make along the way.

[Lynn7]

Originally posted by MacReady
Wait, wait.

You post in nonpolitical forums?

Actually MacReady, I have been a member here for many years and the political forum is pretty new. i love to discuss movies but a lot of times I am a bit behind on seeing them cause I have been pretty busy so when I want to discuss one a lot of times it's already been discussed. This one is a new release onto DVD so I'm good to go.

[Lazy Boy]

*Spoilers*




I don't think it was Sherry (the girlfriend). My line of thinking centers around the pre-credit sequence; the letter is dropped into a mailbox and delivered, yet the next shot is of a plane flying through the air. Does that mean it's being sent from out of state? If so, I don't think she would go to all that trouble -- unless I'm confused and have it all wrong.

[Tayzlor]

I think the letter just serves to arouse curiosity out of Don. I like how he seems completely disinterested at first and just goes on the trip because it is something to do. He wouldn't have gone had Jeffrey Wright's character not arranged it all so neatly.

Throughout the movie, armed with the possibility of a son he scouts possible offspring because he is more concerned with the idea of a son, not the actual, living being he will be left with if he does actually find his son, if there is even one.

At the end it's not likely that the kid who passes by is his son; why would he bring the pink typewriter with him? Jarmusch throws in all the possible clues with the passerby to show what Don wants to think, his awareness of the world around him, his curiosity tapped into now and he never being able to return to his once permanent residence within himself. Also, I think that's what Jarmusch was going for with that circling shot at the very end, to give a sense of Don's awareness.

EDIT: I don't think it actually matters who sent it, but to guess, it was probably Jeffrey Wright's character, a first-hand account of Don's state.

[Sigur509]

I just bought this, and am about to (hopefully) enjoy it.

Thankfully I skipped the spoilers.

[MacReady]

Originally posted by JohnTheHenchman
MacReady, was that really neccesary? Grow up. I don't see you spending much time elsewhere either.

It was a joke dammit. Quit obsessing over everything I post.

EDIT: Okay, the gag was I don't see Lynn's post outside the politics forum often so I made a remark. It wasn't meant to inflame or anything. And I just realized that I myself spend a little too much time focusing on Lynn's post, so I guess I shouldn't be one to talk. But I still have some reasons for writing what I wrote.

I'm just doing this edit in order to avoid a conflict. I haven't seen movie yet but I will be renting soon, so give me a moment.

[Lynn7]

Spoilers in entire post


Lazy Boy- I think that is a good observation about the airplane. I don't think Sherry did it either.





Originally posted by Tayzlor
I think the letter just serves to arouse curiosity out of Don. I like how he seems completely disinterested at first and just goes on the trip because it is something to do. He wouldn't have gone had Jeffrey Wright's character not arranged it all so neatly.

Throughout the movie, armed with the possibility of a son he scouts possible offspring because he is more concerned with the idea of a son, not the actual, living being he will be left with if he does actually find his son, if there is even one.

At the end it's not likely that the kid who passes by is his son; why would he bring the pink typewriter with him? Jarmusch throws in all the possible clues with the passerby to show what Don wants to think, his awareness of the world around him, his curiosity tapped into now and he never being able to return to his once permanent residence within himself. Also, I think that's what Jarmusch was going for with that circling shot at the very end, to give a sense of Don's awareness.

EDIT: I don't think it actually matters who sent it, but to guess, it was probably Jeffrey Wright's character, a first-hand account of Don's state.


I agree with a lot of what you said. Don is pretty disinterested in having a son then he gets a bit curious. By the time he meets the kid with the sandwich and seems convinced it is his son he still is pretty patronizing- "I know you think I am your father..." When the kid runs away that is the first time Don's character gets disoriented and looks like he has been hit emotionally. He actually goes running after the boy and then is in the street when that car goes by. I am really convinced that that is the boy because I rewound and played the scene back and the kid is really LOOKING at Don in a very intense manner as if very curious but not enough to stop. I was watching with subtitles and through the movie the music Don was listening to was identified as Ethiopian Jazz and when the boy goes by the music HE is listening to is also identified as Ethiopian jazz. Also he is dressed in the manner of the people on the farm (Penny's house).

Before I became personally convinced that it was the kid who drove by, I also thought that Don was destined to never know who it would be and would always wonder.

Just a note- in the DVD extras in the farmhouse section the director said that before filming he had each actress write "the letter" to Don and then he took a little from each one to make the real letter. I think he meant to leave it vague and talked about. He also said that it is the viewers interpretation that is most important to him and that he didn't want to make a film that was too deep but he did want people to talk about it a bit and reflect for a few days. I thought the idea of a person revisiting his or her past is a good one and it needed something big to get a person to go to those lengths. Hence- the missing son. I really ended up enjoying the ride.

[JohnTheHenchman]

Originally posted by MacReady
It was a joke dammit. Quit obsessing over everything I post.

EDIT: Okay, the gag was I don't see Lynn's post outside the politics forum often so I made a remark. It wasn't meant to inflame or anything. And I just realized that I myself spend a little too much time focusing on Lynn's post, so I guess I shouldn't be one to talk. But I still have some reasons for writing what I wrote.

I'm just doing this edit in order to avoid a conflict. I haven't seen movie yet but I will be renting soon, so give me a moment.

Ok, sorry for the misunderstanding.