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andiedan
Reviews
Romance & Cigarettes (2005)
21st century cinema at it's best. Entertaining and original.
A film truly worthy of the Coen brothers. If you like their films, you'll love this one. It was not surprising to see that they were the producers. John Turturro's original script and direction make this a very fresh and enjoyable experience. The actors must have enjoyed making the film as this comes across very strongly.
The choice of backdrop - New York suburbs and anonymous looking workers' housing - only serves only to emphasise the colourfulness of each of the characters. Like Robert Altman's films, the banal is turned into the extraordinary using popular music and quite original camera work. Personally, I don't see this film as a "musical" in the sense that the music is not used to tell the story but rather as mood pieces for various scenes.
This is one of the few films that I will invest in the DVD as soon as it is out.