Paterson [Blu-ray]

This is such a gentle and uplifting film. Adam Driver plays Paterson, a gentle-natured bus driver who loves poetry and writes his own in his "secret notebook". He lives a mundane but happy life with his beautiful, eccentric wife , Laura played by Golshifteh Farahani and their English bulldog, Marvin. Every morning Paterson wakes at around 6am, without an alarm, kisses his sleepy wife and starts his day driving the number twenty-three bus through the town where he lives, also called Paterson. Driver actually passed his bus-driver test a week before shooting for this film begun because he wanted the driving scenes to look authentic and they really do. Paterson takes his lunch break by himself in front of a waterfall and this is usually where he writes his poetry. When he gets home from work he goes out for one beer at the same bar every evening, Marvin in tow. Paterson is a gentle giant of a man, Laura is a quirky somewhat ditzy character who Paterson clearly adores. Laura is obsessed with all things black and white, everyday she seems to have painted another area in their apartment and when she decides she would like a "Harlequin" guitar costing several hundred dollars Paterson agrees to buy it for her despite it being obvious that he can't really afford it. Laura ponders, in her rather child-like way, whether she will be able to make it as a country star once she's taught herself to play. I did begin wonder if Laura was agoraphobic as we rarely see her leave the house but I was wrong, she set off to a farmer's market to sell her back and white cupcakes. Upon her return she is thrilled to to have sold so many of them and Paterson tells her how proud he is of her - it is genuinely touching without being in the least bit sickly. Paterson may be quiet and bookish but he is also brave and someone who does the right thing. I thought one of the nicest scenes was when his bus broke down and he was reassuring the passengers not to worry. The appeal of the film isn’t so much in what happens as the beautifully authentic performances. The poetry featured is written by Ron Pagett and some of his volumes are available on Amazon. The words appear in Driver's handwriting across the screen and I believe there is now even a Microsoft font called Paterson. There is a mysterious element to the film, the way Paterson keeps seeing twins and the Japanese gentlemen he encounters at the end. Adam Driver is a terrific actor, In some scenes you can almost see what Paterson is thinking. I had only seen him play Kylo Ren in Star Wars before now ( he was also excellent in that), but I will be following his career with interest . I rarely watch films twice but I will probably make an exception for this.

There are a number of reviews of this film that are of the “Boring”, “Boring”, “Boring” variety. Those reviews are not wrong, as that is how the reviewers found the film to be, but they are the kind of reviews that will often encourage me to watch a film, which was the case here.I've watched and enjoyed other Jim Jarmusch films and I happened upon “Paterson” when I was looking for Golshifteh Farahani films on Amazon. It was the first film with an English speaking part that I have seen Golshifteh Farahani in. I didn't think that I'd seen the lead actor (Adam Driver) in anything before, but now realise that I had seen him before – in the film “Tracks” where he had a supporting role and was excellent in that supporting role.For me, Jarmusch, Driver and Farahani (together with everyone else involved with the film) have excelled with “Paterson”. I thought it was a beautiful film. (Perfectly) unhurried, at times very funny, brilliantly observed situations, with things happening, that in just about any other film would almost certainly have happened very differently and predictably unlike in this film (a scene where Adam Driver's character has a conversation with a group of guys about Marvin comes to mind). Marvin played by Nellie I thought was brilliant and whether Nellie knows it or not, took part in some of the funniest scenes.I came to this film via looking for other cinema of Golshifteh Farahani. Once again she was great, but “Paterson” I would say is very much a case of the film being better than the sum of its parts and is definitely a film that I will be watching again.On the DVD (ASIN: B01N1GQDLR) you get:“Paterson” (1 hour 53 minutes)Chapters SelectionExtras:Q&A with Adam Driver (19 minutes – no subtitles)Trailer“Also available by Jim JarmuschSet Up:5.1 Surround, 2.0 StereoAudio DescriptionOptional English Subtitles

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I actually find it difficult to truly explain how much this film affected me. On the surface, its a simple, one might say mundane film about everyday life. There's no blistering set piece, no huge plot twist and (unlike my original, feared expectation) no dramatic corner round which it turns. It is simply a story of one week of millions in the life of a poetically minded bus driver, who sees so much beauty in the everyday - and yet there is nothing, anywhere, in the dialogue to suggest meaning to the film. There are going to be undoubtedly people that just don't see beyond the surface for this film; people who won't see their own life reflected back at them. People who don't "get it" because they aren't the sort that thinks beyond the obvious about normal situations. Some of the scenarios - his girlfriends obsession with black/white patterns, or her feverish passion for "what might never happen"; in any other, more fictionalised movie, this might be exploited for dramatic tension, but here is isn't. Here, the boring everyday is peppered with excitement in a much subtler way, and on so many levels this is a relief. Your days aren't boring, every day is a blessing. Anything could happen; you will meet so many people in your life and even if its just for a second, everyone comes across as deliciously well rounded and, well, just like you only different.Genuinely laugh out loud moments - particularly when you find out about the post box - oh the praise I could ladle in is endless.Adam Driver is astounding; he doesn't say much, he doesn't need to. Its all in the expression. Tiny nuances and facial ticks that display human emotion more accurately then anything you see in the mainstreams. I kid you not, this is an absolute masterpiece. I'm going to watch it again. Right now.