The Limits of Control

(2009)

★ 6 IMDb · 325 votes

Genres: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Year: 2009

Runtime: 116 мин

Country: United States of America, Japan

Director: Джим Джармуш

Cast: Исаак де Банколе, Alex Descas, Жан-Франсуа Стевенен, Оскар Хаэнада, Luis Tosar, Пас де ла Уэрта, Тильда Суинтон, 工藤夕貴, Джон Хёрт, Гаэль Гарсиа Берналь

Plot

A mysterious stranger works outside the law and keeps his objectives hidden, trusting no one. While his demeanor is paradoxically focused and dreamlike all at once, he embarks on a journey that not only takes him across Spain, but also through his own consciousness.

A solitary man who does not speak Spanish is an underground courier. Two men who are both thuggish and philosophical send him to Madrid with cryptic instructions. Over the course of a few days, he receives his instructions from a series of distinctive individuals who provide words of philosophy or of warning and also give him a matchbox with a tiny piece of paper, which he reads then eats, accompanied by espresso served in two cups. He is quiet, self-contained, focused on his work. He has rules. He encounters and at times transmits a violin, diamonds, a guitar, and a map. Is he a smuggler? Merely an independent conduit? Or, something else?