Limited Control

Variety magazine has posted their review of The Limits of Control, quoted in full below. It isn't very favorable, to put it mildly...

* * *

By Todd McCarthy 

A Focus Features release, presented in association with Entertainment Farm, of a PointBlank production. Produced by Stacey Smith, Gretchen McGowan. Executive producer, Jon Kilik. Directed, written by Jim Jarmusch. 

Lone Man - Isaach De Bankole
Creole - Alex Descas
French - Jean-Francois Stevenin
Violin - Luis Tosar
Nude - Paz de la Huerta
Blonde - Tilda Swinton
Molecules - Youki Kudoh
Guitar - John Hurt
Mexican - Gael Garcia Bernal
Driver - Hiam Abbass
American - Bill Murray
(English, French, Spanish, Hebrew dialogue) 

There are limits to artistic self-indulgence, limits to how long a filmmaker can keep spinning his creative wheels before his work approaches self-parody, and limits to the tolerance of even a devoted specialized audience for artistic vacuity, and they are all well exceeded by "The Limits of Control." This discerningly photographed travelogue of modern Spain features Jim Jarmusch in shallow poetaster mode, grafting familiar quasi-philosophical doodles and trendy cameos onto a woolly hitman's journey. The limit on the theatrical potential for this Focus Features release is extreme. 

Drinking lots of espresso (emphatically two single shots in two separate cups) and impassively refusing to show any emotion (except once, when a waiter dares serve him a double in one cup) while making his way across Spain by plane, train and automobile, French/African thesp Isaach De Bankole makes for the most verbally inexpressive leading man since Wall-E, in his fourth appearance for Jarmusch. Blessed with boldly structured facial features that at least hold one's attention longer than would those of most people, De Bankole scarcely says a thing as he receives a series of enigmatic instructions from a succession of contacts -- "Go to the cafe ... wait two days ... the guitar will find you," this sort of thing -- and only springs to life while doing tai chi routines. 

Pointedly ignoring the arguably overexposed Barcelona in favor of Madrid, Sevilla and other locations, Jarmusch would seem to have devoted more time to selecting -- and then, with ace lenser Christopher Doyle, deciding how to shoot -- the film's striking architectural settings than he has to layering his story with depth or meaning. Structurally, given the long trek to an unknown destination, "Limits" most readily calls to mind the estimable "Dead Man" among Jarmusch's films. But there are no cultural, spiritual or historical reverberations on this trip, only hollow echoes of such tough-minded genre classics as "Le Samourai" and "Point Blank" (after which this film's production company was named), as well as the director's own decade-old hitman tale, "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai." 

To be sure, the surfaces are alluring; Doyle and Jarmusch approach the many beautiful buildings and locations with graceful, often curving camera moves that specifically suit the physical nature of their subjects, and steer clear of pretty postcard shots. But with the exception of the unavoidably provocative all-nude, all-the-time performance of voluptuous Paz de la Huerta as a sex bomb who sleeps with the protag but can't get a rise out of him, the brief supporting turns, by the likes of Tilda Swinton, Gael Garcia Bernal, John Hurt and Bill Murray, come off like insider gags that verge on the silly. 

Worst of all, it just feels tired and recycled -- the referencing of Rimbaud and Blake, the flagrant hipsterism that here falsifies rather than refreshes, the self-conscious plunking down of all manner of foreign actors in unlikely contexts, the above-it-all attitude toward connecting on a human level. And then there's the music, mostly by a Japanese electronic noise outfit called Boris, that drones on ultimately to congeal into a state of undead rigor mortis.

Camera (Deluxe color), Christopher Doyle; editor, Jay Rabinowitz; music, Boris; production designer, Eugenio Caballero; set designer, Gabriel Liste; set decorator, Pilar Revuelta; costume designer, Bina Daigeler; sound (Dolby Digital/DTS), Drew Kunin; sound designer, Robert Hein; re-recording mixers, Dominick "The Dominator" Tavella, Hein; assistant director, Adrian Grunberg; second unit camera, Rain Li; casting, Ellen Lewis. Reviewed at Wilshire screening room, Beverly Hills, April 15, 2009. MPAA Rating: R. Running time: 116 MIN.

As the premiere of The Limits of Control draws closer, more and more details begin to emerge.

The very first impressions of the film itself comes from The Playlist, who apparently have had a chance to see the film, presumably at a media preview. They don't reveal much, however, except a comment on the soundtrack: "We thought the music in the film was pretty fantastic and appropriately hypnotic." They also share a quote from the press notes, where Jim Jarmusch talks about key influences for the film:

"What would it be like if Jacques Rivette remade John Boorman's masterpiece "Point Blank"? Or what if Marguerite Duras remade Jean-Pierre Melville's "Le Samourai"? Michelangelo Antonioni looms large in my subconscious so he's probably there, but I wasn't thinking about him beforehand. I was obliquely thinking of Euro crime films from the 1970s and 1980s, like some of Francesco Rosi's work. These impressionistic inspirations floated through my head, in terms of finding a style rather than imitating these movies."

On his Film in Focus blog, Peter Bowen reveals that the soundtrack, along with the Bad Rabbit EP, will be released available through iTunes on April 28 and then in stores on May 12. He also quotes Jim Jarmusch's introduction:

“When I’ve finished a film and it’s released into the world, the most important thing to me, besides the film itself, is the soundtrack record. It collects the musical gifts that both inspired the film and, like passing clouds, shaped and shaded its sonic atmosphere.”

On April 23, at the Cantor Film Center, NYU, there will be will be "An Evening with Jim Jarmusch", where he will be talking about his career and showing clips from Limits, in conjunction with the Museum of the Moving Image in New York. More info here.

Once again, The Playlist delivers breaking news about the music used in The Limits of Control.

The complete tracklist for the official soundtrack cd, to be released April 28, is as follows:

01. Intro - Bad Rabbit
02. Fuzzy Reactor - Boris with Michio Kurihara
03. Saeta - La Macarena
04. Sea Green Sea - Bad Rabbit
05. Feedbacker (TLOC Edit) - Boris
06. Por Compasión: Malaguenas - Manuel el Sevillano
07. Farewell - Boris
08. N.L.T. - Sunn O))) & Boris
09. El Que Se Tenga Por Grande - Carmen Linares
10. Dawn - Bad Rabbit
11. You On The Run - The Black Angels
12. Omens and Portents 1: The Driver (TLOC Edit) – Earth and Bill Frisell
13. El Que Se Tenga Por Grande - Talegón de Córdoba & Jorge Rodriguez Padilla
14. Blood Swamp (TLOC Edit) - Sunn O))) & Boris
15. Schubert 2. Adagio [String Quintet in C, D.956] (TLOC Edit) - Ensemble Villa Musica
16. Daft Punk Is Playing At My House - LCD Soundsystem
17. " " (TLOC Edit) - Boris

The band called Bad Rabbit, providing the tracks "Intro", "Sea Green Sea" and "Dawn" is the band consisting of Carter Logan, Shane Stoneback and Jim Jarmusch himself (as heard in the trailer). Also according to The Playlist, they will apparently be releasing an iTunes-exclusive EP in close proximity to the film's May 1 premiere. 

According to the film's official Facebook page (!),The Limits of Control will have its May 1 premiere in New York, at the Angelika Film Center [at Mercer and Houston Streets] and Los Angeles, at the ArcLight Cinemas [at Vine Street and West Sunset Blvd.] and The Landmark [at West Pico Blvd. and Westwood Blvd.]); "additional cities in May 2009".

Sounding like they might have seen a media preview of The Limits of Control, The Playlist lists all the music used in the film:

Boris - "Feedbacker I & IV" (from Feedbacker, on Disk Union Records)
Boris -"Fuzzy Reactor" (from Rainbow, on Disk Union Records)
Schubert - "Adagio - String Quintent In C D.956"
Boris - " " aka Smile (from the Japanese version of Smile, on Disk Union Records)
sunn 0)))/Boris - "N.L.T." (From Altar, on Southern Lord)
Bill Doggett - "Moon Dust"
LCD Soundsystem - "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House"
Boris -"Farewell" (From Pink, on Southern Lord)
Manuel El Sevillan0 - "Por Compasión: Malagueñas" (a traditional Flamenco)
Black Angels - "You On The Run"
La Macarena - "Saeta" (an Alan Lomax recording)
sunn 0)))/Boris - "Blood Swamp" (From Altar, on Southern Lord)
Talegon De Cordoba, La Truco and Jorge Rodriguez Padilla - "El Que Tenga Por Grande" (traditional)
Earth - Omens and Portents 1: The Driver (from The Bees Made Honey In The Lions' Skull, on Southern Lord)
Carmen Linares - "El Que Tenga Por Grande" (traditional)

A recent press release from music label Southern Lord reveals they are releasing the OST for The Limits of Control:

Southern Lord is honored to house artists worthy of Jarmusch’s newest work, The Limits of Control. These acts are contemporary musical heavyweights in today’s doom, drone and ambient genres, and should act as an incredible soundtrack for this artistic drama.

Southern Lord artist songs used in Limits of Control:
Boris - " " aka Smile (from the Japanese version of Smile, on Disk Union Records)
Boris - "Feedbacker I & IV" (from Feedbacker, on Disk Union Records)
Boris -"Fuzzy Reactor" (from Rainbow, on Disk Union Records)
Boris -"Farewell" (From Pink, on Southern Lord)
Sunn 0)))/Boris - "N.L.T." (From Altar, on Southern Lord)
Sunn 0)))/Boris - "Blood Swamp" (From Altar, on Southern Lord)
Earth - Omens and Portents 1: The Driver (from The Bees Made Honey In The Lions' Skull, on Southern Lord)

The soundtrack is to be released by Lakeshore Records, and some online retailers are already taking pre-orders, with an April 28 release date.

The Playlist has posted some more info about the soundtrack, quoting "an early graph of the press notes", where Jarmusch talks about his choice of music:

“I have a file of the music that I think is appropriate atmospherically for each film, and that has inspired me even before shooting. I pick the music, so there’s no music supervisor per se…When I was writing 'The Limits of Control,' I was already imagining using some things from Boris and Sunn O))), and Earth and The Black Angels. I made [director of photography] Chris Doyle CDs so he could listen to Boris; you could categorize Boris as a psychedelic/noise/metal band, but they’re just so original.” 

Peter Bowen at Film in Focus shares some light on the music used in the trailer for The Limits of Control – in the blog post "Setting the Soundtrack Straight":

"As soon as the trailer for Jim Jarmusch’s new film The Limits of Control was released, the Internet lit up with questions and excitement. At Yahoo Answers, Dave C. wanted to know about the trailer’s 'grifty music ! anyone knows what it is???Pleez Help !'  Many jumped in to help Dave C.  Some bloggers pointed to the Playlist post which notes 'according to the trailer credits for The Limits Of Control, Japanese all-embracing metal band Boris have written music for the film. Or at least the credit says, 'with music by Boris,' which suggests the film does more than use their old songs, but stops short of saying they wrote the score.'

While the Japanese trip Boris wrote and performed much of the music in the film, the trailer music (which is also in the film) was actually written by the director Jim Jarmusch himself. And it was performed by a band composed of Jarmusch (electric guitars, baritone guitar), Carter Logan (drums, percussion) and Shane Stoneback (carillon, organ)."

In the trailer to The Limits of Control, there's a shot of Isaach de Bankolé sitting in an art gallery, in front of a painting of a white veil covering the white canvas (the veil might be an actual sheet, whether it's painted or not is next to impossible to tell; it's slightly reminiscent of the 17th century painter Domenico Fetti's early trompe-l'œil "Veil of Veronica", or rather like a minimalist, conceptual – secular? – version of it.)

Thanks to a friendly contact in Spain, who's also a Jim Jarmusch scholar, I've found out that the painting in question is called "Gran sábana" (roughly Grand Sheet, or Great Veil), and was made in 1968 by the Catalan artist Antoni Tàpies. The gallery holding the painting (and many others by Tàpies) is the Museo Nacional Centro de arte Reina, Sofìa in Madrid, Spain, where, of course, some of the film was shot.

More on Tàpies (in Spanish):
http://www.artelista.com/biografia/9055383618353783-Antoni-Tapies.html