Tang's girlfriend left him, and there was only a stack of unsealed letters left in the house for Tang's company. After helping his neighbor with the computer, Tang opened one of the pink letters. The letter was written by a girlfriend who claimed to be Tang twenty years ago. The letter said that she raised Tang's son alone, but now that the son has run away from home, he may come to see Tang. No signature, no address. Such a letter changed Tang's life.
Tang's neighbor is quite a detective, and he took the initiative to formulate a plan for Tang to find the woman on the letter. According to this plan, Tang hit the road and began to search for his five girlfriends from twenty years ago. The clues that Tang is looking for are pink things and old-fashioned typewriters, and the story slowly unfolds in the process of Tang's search.
The film, though serene and simple, retains Jarmusch's usual alienation and indifference. Although Tang has countless girlfriends, he has no family, no marriage, and no children. When his girlfriend left, there was only a lonely middle-aged man in Nuoda's house.
Don's first journey came to Laura's home. Laura's daughter received Tang warmly. According to the detective's neighbor's instructions before departure, Tang noticed that Laura's daughter was wearing pink pajamas, pink shoes, and even her mobile phone was covered with pink sequins. However, when Laura's daughter appeared naked in front of Tang, he couldn't bear it any longer and rushed out the door. Laura's return allowed three people to share dinner. It turned out that Laura's husband died in a car accident early, and Laura lived alone with her daughter. Laura's life is probably chaotic and indulgent right now, as her heavily make-up daughter and her yard for sale speak for themselves. Early in the morning, Tang left the woman who slept beside him last night.
The second girlfriend's life is obviously luxurious. When Don knocked on the door of the villa, an elegant woman appeared in front of us. There are also pink clues, the woman's pink business card, the pink mural hanging on the wall. The woman still carried the pearl necklace that Tang gave him back then. The clear water in the woman's eyes showed that she still had her old love for Tang. The woman's husband is back, and there are indications that the couple is apparently a little out of touch. A sense of depression enveloped Tang. After dinner, Tang set off again to find his next girlfriend.
The third woman is a bit more bizarre, an animal communicator who, as I understand it, is similar to a Chinese psychic godmother, a woman who claims to be able to communicate with animals. She wore pink plaid pants and didn't have much interest in Tang. There are a few details that make me feel that this woman is having an affair with her receptionist. The flower was ruthlessly thrown out by the front desk, and Tang, who had nothing to gain, hit the road again.
The fourth girlfriend lived in a very remote place, so Tang Mi came over after a while. The pink motorcycle and the pink flowers planted in the corner made us curious about this girlfriend. How do you know that Tang was beaten and scolded by the woman as soon as they met, and inadvertently, Tang also saw an old-fashioned pink typewriter thrown on the ground. Suspected in his heart, Tang directly asked the woman if she had a son, but the woman exploded in an instant, and then Tang's face met the fist of the woman's friend.
Throwing away in the wild, Tang went to a flower shop to buy a bunch of pink roses. The last woman had died in a car accident a few years earlier, leaving the bouquet at the grave. The people in Sri Lanka have passed away, and Tang leaned against the tree alone and shed tears quietly under the drizzle.
The story of the search came to an end temporarily, and Tang returned to his home. But when he received another pink letter, Tang began to suspect that the last pink letter might have been written by anyone, either his ex-girlfriend or his neighbor.
In the process of searching, Tang met five girlfriends from twenty years ago. In twenty years, there have been too many changes. Through the lives of several different women, I deeply feel the sculptural meaning of time. With the passage of time, people's lives have undergone various changes by chance or necessity. Twenty years later, when I look at my old friends, I can only say: Are you okay?
Lonely sails far into the blue sky, only the Yangtze River can be seen in the sky.
Later in the film, Tang saw the same boy twice at the airport and outside the restaurant. Such a coincidence made Tang misunderstand that the boy was his son. After chatting, Tang boldly said that he was the boy's father, but he scared the boy and ran away. In the end, Tang and a boy who is slowly driving by in a car meet each other's eyes, the camera takes a big turn, and the movie ends.
I don’t know if this film is a road movie or not, but in Jarmusch’s shot, the scenery along the way is vivid and poetic. The whole movie has been searching, looking for pink, looking for old typewriters, but by the end of the film, Don has no answers. The movie seems to be cut off abruptly, with no ending.
Five journeys, with the temperament of Jarmusch's short film, come together to form this Broken Flower. There are no ups and downs, and the male protagonist even has very few expressions. He is a bystander of his own life, alienated and indifferent and calm.
I don't understand the two dreams in the film, whether it is an excavation of the inner world or something else, I have no answer.
Finally, I conclude with a sentence from Tang (the English may not be very accurate, just use it!)
The past is gone, I know that.
Future isn't here yet,
Whatever is going to be.
So, all there is this
the present.
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