Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

gavin6942 Three stories are connected by a Memphis hotel and the spirit of Elvis Presley.I love how this film takes for granted the universality of Elvis -- he is not only synonymous with Memphis, but is well known to both Americans and foreigners (Italians and Japanese, in this film).Indeed, director Jarmusch points out that with our crumbling American culture (his words, not mine) all that our culture ever offered was musicians and movie stars. American culture is not opera, painting or theater (though we may have these things) -- it is Elvis and Hollywood.Throw in Steve Buscemi to an already great film, and you have gold. There is no film he cannot make better (even rather lackluster ones like "Floundering").

lastliberal Jim Jarmusch (Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, Broken Flowers) delivers films that are true indy's. They don't fit any norm, and this one is over before you even realize it.It is three stories that are tied together by a seedy motel. The characters never intersect. There must be a point there somewhere, but I sure missed it.I did like the picture of America that we usually don't see unless we go looking for it. Most cities are lit with fast food signs and an endless string of car lots. Getting down on the back streets with stores shuttered, bars where everyone knows your name, and seedy motels that should have closed long ago, is an adventure that most do experience.The blues music and the Elvis theme that runs through the movie is an exciting backdrop. Steve Buscemi is fun to watch as always, and I really liked the Japanese teen, Youki Kudoh, and, of course Robby Müller's (Paris, Texas) cinematography is always good.Jarmusch fans will love it.

bhy1976 This is not the first Jim Jarmush film I've seen, but it is most definitely the last. In typical Jarmush style, this film is composed of mindless dialog amongst flat characters that just goes on ad nauseum. When the characters' words actually lead to actions, those actions are barely able to keep an already struggling plot alive. What saves this film from utter ruin are some amusing one-liners that satirize life in the Southern United States and the naivité of overseas tourists when they end up somewhere like Memphis. Hence the 3-star rating instead of a 1-star rating. Nevertheless, I think the film as a whole fails to entertain or to make any interesting observations on life in general.

zetes After falling in love with Jarmusch's most recent film, Broken Flowers, I thought perhaps the door would be open and I would learn to love the rest of his films. Unfortunately, watching Mystery Train, I feel the same distance that I have felt watching most of his other films. Don't get me wrong, there are some wonderful things about Mystery Train, and, overall, I liked it more than I did Stranger Than Paradise and Down by Law. But I always felt like I should be liking it a lot more, and I just never felt much more than a nice affection for the movie. The film contains three segments about people in Memphis, Tennessee. I especially liked the first one, which has two Japanese tourists there to visit Sun Records and Graceland. The second segment I liked less, which involves an Italian widow and a motormouth American she runs into. The third I liked slightly better than the second, and slightly less than the first. It involves three guys (one of them being Steve Buscemi), one of whom has a loaded gun and is drunk (who is not Steve Buscemi). All three stories meet up at a flophouse run by Screamin' Jay Hawkins (famous for recording the song "You Put a Spell on Me") and a goofy little bellboy played by Spike Lee's brother, Cinqué. I really liked those two. The whole film is mysterious and charming, with a bit of magic in the air, but somehow, for me at least, it didn't result in too much.