Broken Flowers

2005 Comedy Drama

A man sets out to find the son he didn't know he had and winds up getting answers to some questions he never asked in this comedy drama from director Jim Jarmusch. Don Johnston (Bill Murray) is an emotionally blank middle-aged man who has never married and lives a quiet, comfortable life thanks to shrewd investments in computers (though he doesn't use one himself). After being given his walking papers by his latest girlfriend, Sherry (Julie Delpy), Don receives an anonymous letter informing him he fathered a son 19 years ago, and that the boy wants to find his dad. Not sure what to do, Don shows the note to Winston (Jeffrey Wright), a neighbor who fancies himself an amateur detective. With Winston's help, Don narrows the list of possible mothers down to four women, and with a mixture of reluctance and resigned determination he sets out to find them. Armed with a CD of traveling music from Winston, Don pays unannounced visits to Laura (Sharon Stone), an oversexed widow with a libidinous teenage daughter (Alexis Dziena); Dora (Frances Conroy), a stuffy real estate agent; Penny (Tilda Swinton), an aging biker with no happy memories of Don; and Carmen (Jessica Lange), a self-styled analyst for pets whose outward eccentricity disguises a firm inner stability. more..

Director: Jim Jarmusch

Starring: Bill Murray, Jeffrey Wright,Julie Delpy, Heather Alicia Simms, Brea Frazier

Reviews

  • No actor is better than Bill Murray at doing nothing at all, and being fascinating while not doing it. Buster Keaton had the same gift for contemplating astonishing developments with absolute calm. Buster surrounded himself with slapstick, and in Broken Flowers Jim Jarmusch surrounds Murray with a parade of formidable women.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    19 January 2013

  • A movie of uncommon sweetness and delight.

    Lisa Schwarzbaum - Entertainment Weekly

    19 January 2013

  • Like a perfect, short-lived love affair, its pleasure is accompanied by a palpable sting of sorrow. It leaves you wanting more, which I mean entirely as a compliment.

    Dana Stevens - The New York Times

    19 January 2013

  • Broken Flowers may be too low-key for laugh junkies, but Jarmusch fills his sharply observed comedy with wonderful mischief. The mix of humor and heartbreak brings out the best in Murray.

    Peter Travers - Rolling Stone

    19 January 2013

  • Take this trip with him and chances are, you'll find the journey increasingly funny and touching.

    Desson Thomson - The Washington Post

    19 January 2013

Awards

  • Best American Film (Bedste amerikanske film)

    Bodil Awards (2006)

     
  • Best Foreign Film

    British Independent Film Awards (2005)

     
  • Best Film

    Cambridge Film Festival (2005)

  • Jim Jarmusch

    Cannes Film Festival (2005)

  • Best Supporting Actor

    Chlotrudis Awards (2006)