"Only Lovers Left Alive" Jim Jarmusch and his world depicted through vampires

How will you survive? Questions about the current era

Films often reflect the creator's feelings (at the time of production), but directors like Jarmusch, who continues to make personal works as an independent writer, are especially likely to reflect their feelings at the time of filming. I think it's easy. This film was made in 2013, and it was followed by `` Paterson '' (2016) and `` The Dead Don't Die '' (2019), so you can see his feelings toward the current era.

He appeared in the 1980s with `` Stranger Than Paradise '' and became a darling of the independent film industry in his early 30s, but he was already 60 years old by the time ``Only Lovers Left Alive'' was released. . It must not have been easy for him to continue producing works at his own pace without getting swept up in the wave of Hollywood commercialism, but he has managed to survive (like a vampire?). Then, with the advent of the digital age, filmmaking changed even further, and the setting allows us to read his feelings toward these changes.

Adam, a musician, treasures old guitars and recording equipment, and prefers to listen to analog records rather than CDs. He was associated with 19th century poets Byron and Shelley, wrote songs for Schubert, and has even seen a live performance by Eddie Cochrane, a slightly wild rocker from the 1950s (Cochrane was 21 years old). (Legendary rocker who passed away). The walls of his room are decorated with portraits and photographs of old and new talents such as Bach, Brecht, Kafka, Oscar Wilde, Billie Holiday, Neil Young, and Patti Smith. (There is also a portrait of Christopher Marlowe, the 16th century English writer played by Hart.)

"Only Lovers Left Alive" (c)Photofest / Getty Images

Eve loves paper books, and when she goes on a trip, she packs art books and old masterpieces such as Jules Verne's novel `` The Adventures of Captain Hatteras '' in her trunk (Baquiat, a genius New York painter who died in his 20s in the 1980s) (He also brought along a collection of Basquiat's art books, perhaps reflecting Jarmusch's taste in knowing Basquiat when he was alive.) The two cherish great music and literature that have been passed down through the ages, and it is clear that they have a deep attachment to analog culture.

However, Eve also uses a smartphone, so this does not mean that she rejects all digital culture (Adam is more analog-oriented and watches his video calls on an old-fashioned TV). When I saw this scene, I was reminded of the portrait I took of Paterson three years later. The main character, Paterson(Adam Driver), works as a bus driver in a small town and lives a peaceful life with his wife and pet dog. Without a smartphone, he writes his own poems in paper notebooks and respects American poets. The image of a person who turns his back on social trends and trends and single-mindedly pursues the world he believes in may be Jarmusch's own alter ego.

A later film, ``The Dead Don't Die,'' featured Tom Waits as a forest-dwelling recluse who mocks people who become prisoners of their own desires and turn into Dawn of the Dead. ``Only Lovers Left Alive'' also has a sense of melancholy and humorous satire about the current era.

Jarmusch's works, which borrow the style of horror films such as Vampires and Dawn of the Dead, have a strong social satirical perspective, but placing Paterson in the middle gives a glimpse of Jarmusch's recent state of mind. Even if the world becomes difficult to live in, I want to somehow cherish my own feelings. I feel like I can see the quiet struggles of people who think this way.

In the second half of ``Only Lovers Left Alive,'' Eve's younger sister Eva (Mia Wasikowska), who lives a fleeting life, appears, disrupting the world of her sisters, and causing irreversible incidents. With the appearance of the troublesome Eva, the protagonists are forced to make a new decision and move to another location. As a result, we are now faced with another crisis.

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