Mystery Train

Nov 17 1989 R 1h 50m
Comedy, Crime, Drama

In Memphis, Tennessee, over the course of a single night, the Arcade Hotel, run by an eccentric night clerk and a clueless bellboy, is visited by a young Japanese couple traveling in search of the roots of rock; an Italian woman in mourning who stumbles upon a fleeing charlatan girl; and a comical trio of accidental thieves looking for a place to hide.

Plot

Over the course of a single night in pale Memphis--the home of Sam Phillips' legendary Sun Studio--a vivid triptych of romantic Rock n' Roll pilgrimage; sad nostalgia; emotional Americana, and forgotten, decrepit places unfolds. Pivoting around the low-rent and almost dilapidated Arcade Hotel, the strange stories of four visitors unwittingly intertwine, as the aloof couple of Japanese teenagers--Mitsuko, who yearns to visit Graceland, and Jun, a sad-faced die-hard fan of Carl Perkins--arrive in the Tennessee ghost town, in "Far from Yokohama". Likewise, the recently widowed Italian, Luisa, who's come to town from Rome to take her deceased husband's body back to Italy, winds up in the same hotel, sharing a room with the garrulous Dee-Dee, in "Ghost". Then, elsewhere in the city during the same endless night, the neighbourhood's barber, Charlie, reluctantly goes on a boozy binge with the unemployed British immigrant, Johnny, and, eventually, they both end up in the Arcade, in "Lost in Space". Of course, the mystical aura of an eternal, 1956-handsome Elvis Presley haunts everything in this unforgettable night in Memphis. Is the King truly gone?

Written by

Jim Jarmusch

Directed by

Jim Jarmusch

Production Countries

United States of America, Japan

Production Companies

JVC, Mystery Train

Languages

Italiano, English

Awards

1 win & 8 nominations

Scores
# of Votes
32,848
Average Rating
7.5 out of 10
Metascore
80
Popularity
NA