After watching “Here and There,” I have a hunch that Darko Lungulov, its writer- director, has seen more than his share of Jim Jarmusch’s laconic adventures.
David Thornton, star of Lungulov’s movie, plays a permanently depressed character straight out of Jarmusch.
Thornton’s antihero, New Yorker Robert, is a sax player suffering from the musical version of writer’s block. A chance encounter with Serbian immigrant Branko provides Robert with a chance to pick up a not-so-easy $5,000.
All he has to do is go to Belgrade and marry Branko’s sweetheart, Ivana, so she can get a visa and come to the US. Little goes as planned, of course — but why should it?
“Here and There” has a strong cast, led by Thornton as the unkempt, 52-year-old Robert and Mirjana Karanovic, a veteran of movies by Emir Kusturica, as Branko’s divorced mother. Cyndi Lauper, Thornton’s real-life wife, has a cameo as one of Robert’s New York friends, but she doesn’t have much to do.
On the downside, the “Here and There” script is borderline clichéd, and it makes getting a US visa seem way too easy. But I can think of much worse ways to spend an hour and a half than watching this absurdist comedy.