RARA-AVIS: Mystery Train and Pulp Fiction

From: Juri Nummelin ( juri.nummelin@pp.inet.fi)
Date: 16 Nov 2007


It's been over ten years since I saw Mystery Train and I haven't seen it since, but I think there's a major difference between how Jarmusch handles time and how Tarantino handles time. In Mystery Train, there's always the focal point (or whatever, I can't think of a better word here) with which everything is depicted, but in Pulp Fiction there's simply none. In the film there's no actual moment in time in which the narration takes place. I think that differs greatly from Jarmusch - and almost every other film we've seen mentioned here - and I think that's what makes Pulp Fiction a masterpiece.

Tarantino hasn't been able to do it again - both Kill Bill and Death Proof left me quite cold. I really love Reservoir Dogs and liked Jackie Brown very much, but he's been going downhill.

Sorry if I didn't manage to explain myself fully. I talk about this more fluently in Finnish.

Juri

PS. And hey, ask Jim to come back. It's always good to have someone around who can make you grinde your teeth. And would someone please explain what happened to Bill Denton? I remember having received an e-mail from him in which he asked whether there'd be any sense to move to Scandinavia or even to Finland. This was five or six years back, though.



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