Do you have any Tobacco?..
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JefferyHunt — 19 years ago(July 18, 2006 10:10 PM)
He's in purgatory (Hell, America, Wild West, Individualism and its decadence, freedom ironically sought in purgatory). He's there becuase he doesn't smoke. Tobacco represents faith, what it takes to get hime to the other side of that river(Jordan?). Because, at the end, this time the boat moves and he moves with it (as opposed to how the guy from the train described it). And Jarmusch probably chose tobacco for the reaseons the above poster explained. At leasts that's how I read it and it makes sense considering that the movie feels very spiritual.
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Tyler_Bateman — 19 years ago(July 20, 2006 12:48 PM)
Personally, I think this is an existentialist movie, without much meaning. It is a very good movie, very interesting, but I don't think it should be thought into incredibly hard. It is one of those movies you watch, and you take what you can from it without thinking about it too much. I think if you did, you would find essentially the movie is meaningless, with random outbursts and memorable dialouge among strange mood scenes. It's a masterpiece though, I must say.
And now, the news. -
tompetty832002 — 19 years ago(November 08, 2006 10:44 AM)
you are wrong if you dont think it is meant to be read into and i really dont see how you could view it as a masterpiece if you took it at surface level it is just another movie with a guy on the run. if you think it isnt meant to be read into, you are wrong, plain and simple
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Brasil123 — 12 years ago(April 28, 2013 07:49 AM)
there is a thing known as intuition which allows you to draw meaning from something, let's say a film, without having to isolate and give meaning to countless symbols and plot devices.
I'm not saying film analysis doesn't have its place, but if the film flows well, and it gives you a certain feeling, and you really do feel like there are deep, important questions being asked, I think it can be a masterpiece without looking much beyond the surface.
What the previous poster may have meant by saying it does not have to be read into, is that giving everything one static, specific meaning may close your mind to various different, equally valid interpretations of the film.
That's the beautiful (and frustrating) thing about art: nobody's "wrong, plain and simple" -
pathfinder616 — 10 years ago(February 03, 2016 06:12 PM)
Tyler, after my first viewing i thought it was an existential film but i kept asking myself questions about lines delivered and symbolism in almost every scene. so i looked online and found several examples of the most amazing analysis which puts to rest your theory that this film is essentially meaningless.
read this paper and tell me if you still feel the same: http://www.jcrt.org/archives/03.2/lee.shtml
We deal in lead, friend. -
pathfinder616 — 10 years ago(February 03, 2016 06:13 PM)
Tyler, after my first viewing i thought it was an existential film but i kept asking myself questions about lines delivered and symbolism in almost every scene. so i looked online and found several examples of the most amazing analysis which puts to rest your theory that this film is essentially meaningless.
read this paper and tell me if you still feel the same: http://www.jcrt.org/archives/03.2/lee.shtml
We deal in lead, friend. -
jluis1984 — 19 years ago(September 07, 2006 10:16 AM)
I thought it symbolized Blake's status as a "foreigner". Basically everyone in the film's "Wild West" smoked or carried tobacco in some way. That's why at the end he gives tobacco to Nobody, because he was finally part of the world.
"Do you mind if I rip your throat and eat your heart?" -
freesharon — 19 years ago(September 21, 2006 12:26 PM)
I haven't watched it in a while but I thought that he was already a dead man (with a wound he couldn't survive) and Nobody was trying to help him find the right moment to cross over. The tobacco was ritually and symbolically important.
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texagander — 19 years ago(February 08, 2007 07:44 PM)
Aside from anything that the tobacco probably symbolized, the tobacco line was also to set up a pretty funny joke.
Willian Blake, at a point of frustration, tells Nobody hes has not understood a word he has said since the beginning. Nobody follows with the rejoinder, "Are you
sure
you don't have any tobacco?" William Blake doesn't get the joke (which is Nobody's assuming the prior requests for tobacco were not understood, as well); and; he just continues to explain how he doesn't smoke.
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freesharon — 19 years ago(February 13, 2007 07:17 AM)
Good catch. Nobody really is a funny guy. I guess I'm ready to look this board over for new interpretations and then see the movie again. Want to add that this is the most respectful board I've found for any movie, actor, director, or writer. That alone indicates to me something profound about the value (or values) of the movie.
"There are three sides to every story: yours, mine, and the truth." ~ Robert Evans