Coffee and Cigarettes is the title of three short films and a 2003 anthology film by independent film director Jim Jarmusch. The film consists of 11 short stories which share coffee and cigarettes as a common thread, and includes the earlier three short films.

Themes

The film is composed of a comic series of short vignettes shot in black and white built on one another to create a cumulative effect, as the characters discuss things such as caffeine popsicles, Paris in the 1920s, and the use of nicotine as an insecticide – all while sitting around drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes. The theme of the film is absorption in the obsessions, joys, and addictions of life, and there are many common threads between vignettes, such as the Tesla coil, medical knowledge, the suggestion that coffee and cigarettes don't make for a healthy meal (generally lunch), cousins, The Lees (Cinqué and Joie, and a mention of Spike Lee), delirium, miscommunication, musicians, the similarities between musicianship and medical skill, industrial music, acknowledged fame, and the idea of drinking coffee before sleeping in order to have fast dreams. In each of the segments of the film, the common motif of alternating black and white tiles can be seen in some fashion. The visual use of black and white relates to the theme of interpersonal contrasts, as each vignette features two people who disagree completely yet manage to sit amicably at the same table.

"Coffee and Cigarettes" is the second single from Jimmy Eat World's seventh studio album Invented.

Reception

Rock Sound suggests that "Coffee and Cigarettes" takes several listens to unleash its "true charm", saying "'Coffee And Cigarettes' and the title track slowly uncurl themselves over the course of a few days" and that it feels like as if Jimmy Eat World never went away.Punknews.org praises the song for its "simple yet effective chorus" and that's more memorable than most songs on the album, but criticizes the synth in the song.

Live performances

"Coffee and Cigarettes" was performed on Conan on December 13, 2010.

Charts

References