Paterson

Life is made of routines. Everyday we wake up towards the same places, meeting the same people. If you want drama and action, then this movies isn't fit for you. This is a movie about routines, but more than that: a movie about how we can find beauty in the routines. Paterson, a bus driver, does the same everyday in a village that never leaves a sleepy, foggy state. But he faces each day with joy, together with his ally: the love for poetry. Watch the movie if you like to see normal people, doing normal things but still, finding beauty in the small things.

I decided to watch this film because of two friends who claimed they did not understand what is happening and that they did not know how to watch a movie. I saw the and the answer is simple. In fact, the answer is in the movie itself!

If you are a fan of William Carlos Williams or a fan of Archibald McLeish (both poets), then the answer is throughout the film. Unlike many of today's films, this one celebrates the essence of a film by just being a film. McLeish offers an answer in his poem, "Ars Poetica" where he asserts a poem does not "mean," it simply is.

Williams also offers an answer in his works: there is an inherent value in the the "thingness of things" whether it is the bowl of plums reference in this film or in the red wheelbarrow.

What Jarmush has given us is an excellent example of what these two poets told us years ago: there is value in the small and simple things of life. That is all this film is about and we are told, point blank, at the end of the movie: the Japanese poet asks Paterson if he, too, is a poet. Paterson says, no; he is only a bus driver. The Japanese poet says, "This could be a poem by William Carlos Williams."

And, indeed, that is what we have just seen.

I can't possibly do justice to this movie because, frankly, I didn't understand it. I get that it is a sort of adaptation of the epic Paterson poem into a movie, but why would someone do that is beyond me. The acting was good, the direction was excellent, I sincerely cannot imagine a better movie adaptation of the subject, which is a bus driver called Paterson, driving his bus in Paterson.

Now, I guess there could be entire pages dedicated to the film. The way it was made, shot, the rhythm, the analogies to the poetic style, the artistic references in the script, the symbolism and so on. But really, what this film is about is a week in the life of a really introverted bus driver.

Bottom line: you need to be in a certain mood and be a certain kind of person to really appreciate it.

It takes ten minutes to get used too the slow pace and unorthodox nature of the film, then it becomes a warm bath on a cold winters day which you dont want to get out of.

The film shows us a week in the life of a couple living a seemingly happy and slightly bohemian lifestyle in Paterson, New Jersey. Adam Driver is a bus driver going also goes by the name of Paterson, who writes poetry every day, drawing inspiration from what at first seem mundane conversations on the bus he drives, and also from his lover, played by Golshifteh Fahani, who spends her days painting and making cupcakes. The poetry Adam Driver writes appear on screen in a soft font which is pleasant on the eye, as he reads them out to himself.

The whole film is routed in poetry, and is clearly made by people who love the art form, especially the poetry of William Carlos Williams, whose poems are quoted continually throughout the film. After a while it felt like the films itself was like beautiful poem that you wish would just go on and on. This wasn't only due to the poetic elements, but also down the softly spoken characters and dialogue, the beautifully shot streets and houses and ambling pace of the film. Nothing about this film feels rushed, but at the same time it lingers a lot but never outstays it welcome. The characters are utterly believable, the chemistry between Driver and Fahani tangible and delicate, as they wake up in bed together each morning, signifying a new day.

It drew me in very quickly, and after a short while i relaxed back and let the film cast its soft spell on me, leaving me with a warm fuzzy feeling for hours afterwards.

Paterson is a character driven joy to watch and see. I felt as if I was watching reality programming about characters that you can not help but root for. I became emotionally invested in the first 15 minutes and by films end was concerned for and gave a damn about all of their outcomes.

The theme of the film is the poetry in everyday life that surrounds us. The triumph's and setbacks faced by real people and how they deal with the obstacle's that get in the way of aspirations and dreams. A breath of fresh air from films where the stakes and risks are larger than life itself. Paterson is a journey in the life of the main character his charming and spontaneous girlfriend and her territorial but one of a kind dog Marvin.(One of the greatest movie dogs of all time!) Paterson is not a generic "feel good" movie but I felt great having seen it!