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.

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!

Greetings again from the darkness. Do you find poetry in everyday life? What about poets … do you envision loners whose lives are filled with angst and suffering? Our lead character here is a pretty normal guy who drives a city bus, has a happy marriage, and walks his dog each evening. He's also a poet – and a pretty interesting one.

Writer/director Jim Jarmusch (Broken Flowers, 2005) often seems like he is making films for his circle of friends … all whom must be much cooler than you and me. This time, however, he takes an opposite approach and brilliantly focuses on a dude that any of us could know. Paterson (Adam Driver) is a New Jersey Transit bus driver who writes poetry based on his observations of life's seemingly minor details (his first poem notes "We have plenty of matches in our house").

You should be forewarned: there are no murders, kidnappings, bank robberies or shootouts. Things move rather deliberately. Also missing are any special effects – heck, Adam Driver even got licensed to drive a bus for the role. Instead, we are forced to slow down and see each of the seven days of a week through the eyes and words of Paterson. He observes. He listens. He people watches. He then commits his thoughts to the page and recites them for our benefit. Sometimes he is eavesdropping on bus passengers, while other times he curiously tries to figure out the newest "dream" for his beloved wife Laura (Golshifteh Farahani). Having the soul of an artist, Laura cloaks her world in a geometric black and white color scheme while energetically bounding from cupcakes to country and western music to cooking as she pursues her place in life.

There are many Jarmusch touches throughout. Paterson the poet actually lives and works in Paterson, New Jersey … yep, Paterson from Paterson. The interactions at the neighborhood bar (run by Barry Shabaka Henley) are simultaneously real and surreal – right down to the wall of local fame (including Hurricane Carter and Lou Costello, but no mention of Larry Doby). Coincidences abound. A young girl recites her poem to Paterson … her writing style, personal book, and delivery make her seem like his poetic doppelganger – all while the recurring appearance of numerous sets of twins make us believe in the law of attraction. Lastly, the closest thing to a villain in the film is Paterson's bulldog Marvin, in what plays like a love-hate relationship with the mailbox being center-ring.

Another local Paterson (the city) aspect is Paterson's (the poet) admiration of the works of William Carlos Williams, a poet whose style he emulates. One of the terrific scenes near the end involves a spontaneous interaction between Paterson and town visitor (Masatoshi Nagase) that takes place next to The Great Falls, and serves as a reminder that we should accept who we are, no matter the challenges or lack of glory. This is truly director Jarmusch's ode to the artist/poet in each of us and in ordinary life. Creating art as best we can is a very personal thing, and for some it's a need - while for others it's one of life's simple pleasures. Regardless, a "normal" life with daily routines is not to be scorned, but rather embraced, should you be so fortunate. If you doubt this, Paterson asks, "Would you rather be a fish?" **NOTE: sharp moviegoer eyes will recognize Kara Hayward and Jared Gilman, who both had their debut in Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom (2012).

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.

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.