Bill Murray, Brea Frazier, Chloë Sevigny, Christopher McDonald, Frances Conroy ...( see more  see more... ) , Heather Alicia Simms , Jeffrey Wright , Jessica Lange , Julie Delpy , Mark Webber , Sharon Stone , Tilda Swinton

The resolutely single Don has just been dumped by his latest lover, Sherry. Don yet again resigns himself to being alone and left to his own devices. Instead, he is compelled to reflect on his past wh...( read more  read more... )en he receives by mail a mysterious pink letter. It is from an anonymous former lover and informs him that he has a 19-year-old son who may now be looking for his father. Don is urged to investigate this "mystery" by his closest friend and neighbor, Winston, an amateur sleuth and family man. Hesitant to travel at all, Don nonetheless embarks on a cross-country trek in search of clues from four former flames. Unannounced visits to each of these unique women hold new surprises for Don as he haphazardly confronts both his past and, consequently, his present.

Flixster Users

68% liked it

84,852 ratings

Critics

87% liked it

182 critics

R, 1 hr. 45 min.

Directed by: Jim Jarmusch

Release Date: August 5, 2005

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DVD Release Date: January 3, 2006

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Stats: 4,217 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (4,217)


  • October 30, 2009
    Bill Murray is an older, former ladies' man who gets an anonymous letter in the mail one day that tells him he has a son from a fling 20 years ago. Unfortunately, he has no idea who sent it, so he narrows it down to 4 possible women and with the help of his Sherlock Holmes wannab...( read more)e friend (played brilliantly by Jeffrey Wright) he goes on a roadtrip to visit them all and find clues as to which one of them it could be? The movie is very entertaining with Murray's deadpan acting but not laugh out loud funny. Not for everybody, especially those who are looking for a classic Bill Murray comedy.
  • August 27, 2009
    The calibration of Bill Murray and Jim Jarmusch was always going to be good. They worked together briefly before in Coffee & Cigarettes, and I think it was clear from then on that they would end up working together on more projects and long may they continue. Broken Flowers isn't...( read more) Jarmusch's best directorial film but thanks to Murray it is probably his funniest. The supporting cast is also fantastic.
  • March 19, 2009
    Whle the payoff is unsatisfying, the journey is interesting.
  • December 6, 2008
    Memorable for its remarkable ability to bore. Slow even for Jarmusch, this plays like what it is: an attempt to cash in on Bill Murray's newly found ability (in Lost in Translation) to play middle age malaise to perfection. There isn't much of a story, and I can't care about Murr...( read more)ay's character because he plays it TOO somber.
  • November 1, 2008
    Broken Flowers is such a fantastically well-written movie, at least if you forgive it a couple of excesses, like the constant Don Juan references and the young girl who attempts to seduce Bill Murray named Lolita of all things. They're very out-of-place in a screenplay that is ot...( read more)herwise subtle. Broken Flowers's narrative is a disparate mix of tones, inserting Murray into all sorts of emotional zones over the course of his search, and his deadpan performance makes the perfect foil for it all. There are times in the film where he would have a smile so tiny that I didn't even know if it was actually intentional, but it made me laugh nonetheless. The attentive viewer will find a lot to love about his Don.

    Jim Jarmusch's story also allows him to trot out a handful of great actresses in glorified cameos, all of them nailing their roles with great success. An unrecognizable Tilda Swinton has a massive impact with just four lines; Frances Conroy speaks volumes with her downplayed, dead-in-the-eyes, "happily married" real estate agent. Seeing the various miseries of all these women in his life is a fantastic way for Jarmusch to put life into perspective for Don, a motif that plays into the ending very intelligently. Why did someone put him up to this journey? The movie makes its suggestions, but ultimately, we are left to our own devices.

    Broken Flowers is a fine contribution from Jarmusch, one that washed Mystery Train from my palate and has encouraged me to finish Ghost Dog. The man has a way with film, this sort of elegiac white trashiness...it's fascinating. Art imitating life in the strangest of ways.
  • February 5, 2010
    An aging playboy reluctantly searches for an old flame and the son he's supposed to have had with her twenty years before, only to discover that the past is gone and he has to cope with his inability to relate to other people.
  • January 22, 2010
    ma che finale!!! eheh.
  • January 3, 2010
    Remarkable story of a search.Check it.
  • December 29, 2009
    Murray and Jarmusch what else could be better
  • December 21, 2009
    Bill Murray is great and the story is clever and thought provoking. Slow and deliberate, but very intriguing.

Critic Reviews


August 5, 2005
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

[A] well-meaning but remote picture. full review

August 5, 2005
Marcy Dermansky, About.com

The pace of "Broken Flowers" is slow, but Jarmusch treats us to an almost dizzying array of vivid, unexpected details. full review

August 5, 2005
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

The movie doesn't come to a definitive point or make an explicit, but the movie does illustrate, in a penetrating way, the sadness of going through life emotionally disconnected. full review

August 5, 2005
David Edelstein, Slate

Broken Flowers is Jarmusch's most conventionally entertaining film, but it's still visually rigorous, swimming in pregnant silences, and un-filled-in in a way that's tantalizing. full review

August 4, 2005
Edward Havens, FilmJerk.com

Can there be such a thing as too much a good thing? full review

August 4, 2005
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

With Broken Flowers, Jim Jarmusch's sly, touching new film, Bill Murray reaffirms his status as the quietest comic actor in movies today. full review

August 4, 2005
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

Long on atmosphere, light on dialogue and courageously willing to leave its puzzles unresolved. full review

August 4, 2005
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

No actor is better than Bill Murray as doing nothing at all, and being fascinating while not doing it. full review

July 28, 2005
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

The mix of humor and heartbreak brings out the best in Murray. full review

View more Broken Flowers reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • ilovetheeightiesforever
    July 25, 2009
    Sorry to all of the haters of this movie BUT I ACTUALLY LOVED THIS MOVIE ALOT!!!!!!!!!!!!! So take your crappy thoughts about this movie and flush them down the toilet with you. I like this movie ALOT!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • wolverinespussycat
    June 22, 2008
    This film is just shit.
  • haylzb
    June 22, 2008
    The begining was quite boring and the end very abrupt, but apart from that it is an okay film. The middle was quite good, and could be funny at times
  • whatwouldkevindo
    June 13, 2006
    Why doesn't this movie get the props it deserves? Damn you people... Damn you all to Hell. Mainly because Michigan is a frightening place. Furthermore, it is a place that anyone who doesn't like this movie deserves to rot at.

    Rot... Rot in Hell, Michigan.

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Broken Flowers Trivia


  • Bill Murray plays and "over-the-hill Don Juan" named Don in....  Answer »
  • In which movie does Bill Murray set out to track down the mother of his son after receiving an anonymous letter on pink paper?  Answer »
  • What country does Winston come from in the movie 'Broken Flowers'?  Answer »
  • I've played a super macho latino gangster,a broken man from Gulf War, a star of Broken Flowers, and a CIA agent at a high-stakes poker game. Who am I?   Answer »

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