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Mystery Train

Play trailer Poster for Mystery Train R 1989 1h 53m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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89% Tomatometer 36 Reviews 87% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
A seedy hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, provides the backdrop for three separate tales, featuring everything from a kitsch-obsessed Japanese couple (Masatoshi Nagase, Yûki Kudô) to a trio of amateur robbers (Joe Strummer, Rick Aviles, Steve Buscemi) who discover the true nature of their relationship during a botched heist. Linking the stories together is the hotel's eccentric and creepy night clerk (Screamin' Jay Hawkins) as well as the spirit of Elvis Presley.

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Mystery Train

Mystery Train

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Critics Consensus

Mystery Train meanders by design, but it never goes off the rails, retaining its deadpan cool throughout.

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Critics Reviews

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John Pym Sight & Sound 01/11/2020
Mystery Train, evocatively photographed by the clear-eyed outsider Robby Muller, is occasionally touched with comic inspiration. Go to Full Review Chris Nashawaty Entertainment Weekly 06/10/2010
B+
The three-part structure of Mystery Train is still a bit shambling and slight, but there's an undeniable air of deadpan cool that permeates the film and gives it a haunting sense of place. Go to Full Review Geoff Andrew Time Out 06/24/2006
Happily, Jarmusch's formal inventiveness is framed by a rare flair for zany entertainment ... Go to Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Mar 12
3.5/4
In one of his finest films, Jim Jarmusch illustrates how Elvis Presley the myth can eclipse the notion of Elvis Presley the man and even Elvis Presley the rock star. Go to Full Review Rene Jordan El Nuevo Herald (Miami) 11/03/2022
The grand pleasure of Mystery Train is seeing how a film with all the possibilities of being boring and soporific has a special dose of adrenaline within every demented sequence. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Catherine Saalfield OutWeek 05/20/2020
Jarmusch says, 'Sometimes two people going to have an ice cream cone can be much more dramatic or insightful than two people shooting at each other.' What makes Mystery Train different is that he gives us both. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Bodie S @Dabaddes Jan 25 Jarmusch has the ability to make the mundane seem cool. Was lucky enough to visit Memphis and check out the existing spots. Awesome cinematography - interesting characters - cool soundtrack. What more could you want. Carllll Perkkkinnnsssss...... See more Magga L @RT53178139 12/12/2024 This movie made me love people watching, it made me realize that we truly never know what people are doing See more Aender S @RT01933294 04/25/2024 Great movie in Jim Jarmusch's typical style of three stories tied loosely together. See more Logan M @RT24272249 03/12/2023 Classic Jim Jarmusch. If you like quirky movies, comedy movies or independent movies, this is a must-watch. See more TheFilmReviewer 1 @TheRealAckervold 03/02/2023 Showcasing a virtually unknown cast at the time, Mystery Train is a brilliantly original dramedy with excellent directing and writing by Jim Jarmusch. See more Tony S @RT94004908 05/18/2022 In all of Jarmusch's other movies, I really don't mind the meandering as long as the character that meanders is interesting. It doesn't mean that something necessarily engaging needs to happen, but in this movie it is clear that the main character is the director's love for Americana and Memphis. Mystery Train has a few good characters, like the clerk and bellboy (to the point where I wish it was about them), great cinematography, and a great soundtrack, but in every other aspect it's dull. All three stories have a peppering of Elvis, but in reality, it could have been literally anyone. The template is already there in the first story. None of the stories converge outside of a few incorporations, and nothing even justifies the structure of the movie. It's just 100 minutes of rarely amusing scenes of badly padded dialogue in vignettes with bizarre allusions that only serve to question the character's artificiality. Lost in Space, because Buscemi is lost in space with those two idiots, and that's why he doesn't just leave. That's great. It's also not interesting. The movie insists on being an anti-climax, subverting the dreaded conventions of storytelling to its detriment. It's definitely not Jim Jarmusch's best. See more Read all reviews
Mystery Train

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Cast & Crew

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Jim Jarmusch

Director

Masatoshi Nagase

Jun

Nicoletta Braschi

Luisa

Joe Strummer

Johnny aka Elvis

Yûki Kudô

Mitsuko

Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Night Clerk

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Mystery Train

Mystery Train (1989) Mystery Train (1989) Mystery Train (1989) Mystery Train (1989) Mystery Train (1989) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis A seedy hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, provides the backdrop for three separate tales, featuring everything from a kitsch-obsessed Japanese couple (Masatoshi Nagase, Yûki Kudô) to a trio of amateur robbers (Joe Strummer, Rick Aviles, Steve Buscemi) who discover the true nature of their relationship during a botched heist. Linking the stories together is the hotel's eccentric and creepy night clerk (Screamin' Jay Hawkins) as well as the spirit of Elvis Presley.
Director
Jim Jarmusch
Producer
Jim Stark
Screenwriter
Jim Jarmusch
Production Co
JVC Entertainment
Rating
R
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 17, 1989, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
May 22, 2017
Runtime
1h 53m
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