ParkBench, Come Sit With Me

To start with, this film somehow manage to made you find your own stories amongst the jumping scenes, simple everyday dialogues and the different plots of this movie on soul searching and lost love. It's a typical romantic film about feelings, broken hearts and hopes (or hopelessness for that matter) with some insertion of betrayal, suicide and gambling.

Norah Jones as a starring role with Jude Law didn't particularly interest me until I saw who directed the movie. It's another one of Wong Kar Wai's film which I'm a big fan of after watching In The Mood For Love starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung. The cinematography is the usual hip and artistic style of Wong Kar Wai's movie with blurred motions of lights, jumping scenes and focus shots of the artists or chosen objects that appeared repeatedly as a iconic part of the whole movie. Combined with a backdrop of soundtracks ranging from Norah Jones' own song to Otis Redding and a borrowed melody by Gustavo Santaolalla from The Motorcyle Diary, the director succeeded to maintain the artistic hip urban feelings throughout the different settings from the opening scenes of a New York So Ho cafe to a bar in Memphis, Tennessee and gambling place in Las Vegas.

This combination of cinematography and romantic screenplay by Lawrence Block produced a charming and simple philosophical story tied together mostly by Jude Law as the So Ho cafe owner and Norah Jones over discussions of a jar full of key chains left by broken hearted or betrayed couples while eating blueberry pie. "Sometimes, even if you have the keys those doors still can't be opened. Can they?" is one of the quotes in this movie that basically summed up the whole process of soul searching done by Norah Jones who took a bus from New York to Memphis and Las Vegas.

The supporting artists like Rachel Weisz, Natalie Portman and David Strathairn provide the complete knots in the different plots with their strong acting that has made this movie worthwhile to see.

"It took me nearly a year to get here. It wasn't so hard to cross that street after all, it all depends on who's waiting for you on the other side." is an ending line that signifies the soul searching is over. Like I said, you could find your own stories in this movie. If you dare to look. I did, and it was enough to made me smile.


My Blueberry Nights is a 2007 film directed by Wong Kar Wai, starring Norah Jones and Jude Law. It also features Rachel Weisz, Natalie Portman, David Strathairn and Cat Power. It is Wong's first feature film in English.

My Blueberry Nights was the opening film for the 2007 Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2007.