There is no twist, no thrill in the movie ‘Paterson‘. So if you are doubting- you better skip this one. You only love this cinema if you love poetry, art, or life. It is a great movie of the ordinary kind!
The funny part is that the movie has no story. The storyline is nothing but a flowing river. ‘Paterson’ is a lyrical movie that favors the heart than the head. It is a calm, heartwarming movie that makes us appreciate little things in our daily life.
The Story
‘Paterson’ movie is a simplistic tale of a week from life. Our protagonist is Paterson- a bus driver and a poet. He follows the same routine every day. He goes around the city in his bus- observes and listens to part of conversations of passengers.
We assume there will be many happy romantic things in a romantic movie as well as a lot of sadness. But there is no romance, no separation. Is that even a romantic movie?
In the morning, one of them is opening a book of poems in the kitchen and reciting verses. The girl is making breakfast by saying “It’s good, hmm beautiful, but the previous one was great”.
Isn’t this kind of morning we all fantasy?
A Fraction of Daily life
Considering the plot, it’s totally anti-Hollywood film directed by Jim Jarmusch. Just like our everyday life, not too much happens. It’s only a fraction of our life.
The main strong point of this film is its simplicity, calmness. And yes of course the wonderful prose and poems of Paterson.
LOVE POEM
We have plenty of matches in our house.
We keep them on hand, always.
Currently our favorite brand is Ohio Blue Tip,
though we used to prefer Diamond brand
That was before we discovered Ohio Blue Tip matches.
They are excellently packaged, sturdy
little boxes with dark and light blue and white labels
with words lettered in the shape of a megaphone,
as if to say even louder to the world,
“Here is the most beautiful match in the world,
its one-and-a-half-inch soft pine stem capped
by a grainy dark purple head, so sober and furious
and stubbornly ready to burst into flame,
lighting, perhaps, the cigarette of the woman you love,
for the first time, and it was never really the same
after that.
All this we will give you.”
That is what you gave me, I
become the cigarette and you the match, or I
the match and you the cigarette, blazing
with kisses that smoulder toward heaven.
ANOTHER ONE
When you’re a child you learn there are three dimensions
Height, width and depth
Like a shoebox
Then later you hear there’s a fourth dimension
Time
Hmm
Then some say there can be five, six, seven…
I knock off work
Have a beer at the bar
I look down at the glass and feel glad
PUMPKIN
My little pumpkin,
I like to think about other girls sometimes,
but the truth is
if you ever left me
I’d tear my heart out
and never put it back.
There’ll never be anyone like you.
How embarrassing.
THE LINE
There’s an old song
my grandfather used to sing
that has the question,
“Or would you rather be a fish?”
In the same song
is the same question
but with a mule and a pig,
but the one I hear sometimes
in my head is the fish one.
Just that one line.
Would you rather be a fish?
As if the rest of the song
didn’t have to be there.
‘Love Poem’ is the first poem of ‘Paterson’ movie. There are also a couple of elegant green poems planted throughout the film. If you need a quiet place for your own, ‘Paterson’ can be your movie too. Let’s celebrate the innocence of life.
And don’t forget to share your experience with us.
1 thought on “‘Paterson’ Movie- A Poetic Film for Your Soul<span class="wtr-time-wrap after-title"><span class="wtr-time-number">8</span> min read</span>”
1 thought on “‘Paterson’ Movie- A Poetic Film for Your Soul<span class="wtr-time-wrap after-title"><span class="wtr-time-number">8</span> min read</span>”