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| My Blueberry Nights (The Miriam Collection) | 
 enlarge | Director: Wong Kar-wai
Actors: Tim Roth, David Strathairn, Natalie Portman, Rachel Weisz, Jude Law
Studio: Weinstein Company
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy Used: $6.33
You Save: $13.65 (68%)
New (45) Used (27) from $6.33
Avg. Customer Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 6805
Format: Color, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 95
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: WEID81346D
UPC: 796019813464
EAN: 0796019813464
ASIN: B0016MJ6HY
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Release Date: July 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Guaranteed to play. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Visual Splendor for a Shuffled Plot and Script July 4, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
Kar Wai Wong is as much a visual artist as a film director and his forte has always been making beautiful, multileveled images on a screen that is trying to see clearly the outlines of character development. Such is the case in his first English language film MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS, a creation he wrote (with Lawrence Block) as well as directed. While the 'story' boasts a cast of fine actors, the emphasis seems less on character delineation than on creating a cinematic stream of consciousness.
A New York Russian bakery/cafe is operated by immigrant Jeremy (Jude Law) and into this milieu comes the newly jilted Elizabeth (Norah Jones - who also provides much of he sound track singing for the film). She leaves her boyfriend's keys with Jeremy as a sign of resignation but continues to nightly check to see if her ex-boyfriend has shown up to claim them. This is the premise for the formation of a bond between Jeremy and Elizabeth, but without solidifying that bond, Elizabeth runs off to greener pastures. She settles in Tennessee where she finds work as both a waitress and a bar maid and meets the down and out alcoholic policeman Arlo (David Strathairn) who pines away for his tacky, gallivanting wife Sue Lynne (Rachel Weisz). Leaving that story piece unresolved, Elizabeth then moves to Las Vegas where she becomes friends with a young, loser gambler Leslie (Natalie Portman) who manages to waste Elizabeth's savings for a car on yet another misjudged gambling night. Through this cavalcade of losers Elizabeth continues to write postcards to Jeremy and the ending is blatantly predictable.
There are some moments of memorable dialog: 'Sometimes, even if you have the keys those doors still can't be opened. Can they? ' 'Even if the door is open, the person you're looking for may not be there'. But for the most part this is a visual feast for those who love Kar Wai Wong's genre. The plot is thin as is the dialogue and the actors work to make the most of the outlines of conversation that they embellish with their own spontaneous words. If it feels improvised to the viewer then the viewer has entered the realm of Kar Wai Wong. This is a film for art film lovers - it is very beautiful to watch! Grady Harp, July 08
 An art film that feels just a little lost... July 2, 2008
5 out of 9 found this review helpful
This is a story of a woman's journey across our country in hopes of finding herself, but this trip is laid out in such a way that the people she meets are the ones we find out more about. This premise makes it a spectator film when I was expecting a Norah Jones film.
I was reeled in immediately though, as the opening credits showed only a few names and the director (have always preferred the no intro rule some directors love). The first act makes you feel as if Jude Law is going to be our main character, but you slowly realize that the stage (and future settings) are being made for the "main" lady to enter for awhile, but eventually continue on her long journey. Jude plays a manager of a cafe/deli who lends his ear and blueberry desserts to a recently spurned female customer played by Norah Jones. She was very convincing and believable in this first role of hers; a captivating screen presence. Yet I felt robbed of seeing her portrayal depths as she became more of a bystander than a participant in most of the scenes. The supporting performances of Jude, David Straithairn, Rachel Weisz, Frankie Faisson, and Natalie Portman overshadowed Norah's screen time and lines.
The filming style is a montage of sped-up night imagery and slow pans from various angles on the same interior scenes. The fist 20 minutes in NY, followed by the next 35 in Memphis, then Arizona to Vegas are a great deal of chop editing and strange mood setting pans. Slow motion soundless shots intermixed with a constant variety of artsy night footage are sometimes only broken by a display of what day our lady is living, starting with day 1 through 300.
This film gets rave reviews and has a staunch support group that slams anyone who dislikes it. Understandably, I suppose, as Wong Kar Wai is very talented. Wong's 18 minute Q&A on the DVD and the 15 minute making-of docu help considerably on why this film exists. I would recommend this for a few of my art house customers, but not sure how else to categorize it or hand this to someone and say you will love it. Skip the trailer and DVD artwork as it gives away the end, but maybe that was the point.
Plot does not deliver July 22, 2008
5 out of 11 found this review helpful
You would think with such a powerful cast..Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Norah Jones and Natalie Portman that there would be a script that could complement their talents. Norah Jones is a woman trying to find herself and goes cross country before discovering that what she wanted was where she left it in NYC. Jude Law does nothing more than smoke a few cigarettes, wipe bar tables and serve Blueberry pie. This movie drags along and has a predictable ending. There are much better rentals than this one. Definitely do not buy!! Have you ever watched a romantic comedy that did not make you laugh? I'll never try Blueberry pie again!!
 Diners, Trains, Gamblers, Love in Slo-Mo July 27, 2008
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
"My Blueberry Nights" represents Wong Kar Wai at the peak of his craft. Not the stylistic transition I had expected as much as a translation of a directors vocabulary into a different spoken language. Which seems to make little difference, as Mr. Wong speaks a cinematic language that is both all his own and universal.
Each slow-mo blur and obstructed frame has as much poetry in it as a line of Shakespeare. Wong motifs abound-- Trains, clocks, diners, female gamblers, policemen, the down on their life and luck and looking for love. (Is the similarity of the names Su Li-Zhen and Sue Lynn mere chance?) From "Days of Being Wild" to this latest film, Wong's work is connected by a thematic thread. It is to his credit that repetition, even if deliberate ("In the Mood for Love" and "2046" come immediately to mind, as do the fraternal twins "Chungking Express" and "Fallen Angels"), does not indicate a lack of invention, a creative rut but rather a prevailing vision.
First-time actor Nora Jones (I must admit I winced at the prospect when I first read the news) acquits herself with charm and grace and the rest of the cast performs flawlessly, with David Strathairn perhaps being the standout. When one takes into account that, despite the crediting of two screenwriters, much of the dialogue is improvised by the the actors, as is Wong's wont, the strength of the performances stands out in greater relief.
 I want my money back. August 4, 2008
5 out of 11 found this review helpful
I rented this from Blockbuster and should have taken heed to my instinct to put it back on the shelf when I read the sticker proclaiming it to be a Blockbuster exclusive rental.
I was lured in by the cast and the art house feel. Ten minuted into the film, however, I found myself wondering: "is this it???". I kept waiting for it to begin but it never did. Jude Law and Natalie Portman were really the only interesting characters in the movie and their bits were so minute compared to the entirely lackluster Nora Jones that I kept wondering to myself if the rest of the cast would add this film to their shame list and forget they ever participated in this disaster.
As for the arthouse feel, think in terms of the cinemagraphic tricks used in music videos and video snapshots of subways in New York where everything seems purposely sped up and blurred for effect. Now imagine an entire film of that. It's exhausting.
As to be expected with such a gifted lead, though, there was some lovely music to keep me company throughout the numbing dialogue and impersonal directing. Other than that, it's painful.
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