MovieChat Forums > Mystery Train (1989) Discussion > Twenty-two dollars

Twenty-two dollars

posted 18 years ago by JoeyBombs
4 replies | jump to latest

I watched this movies last night on recomendation of a friend who knows I'm a massive Joe Strummer fan.

I thought it was a decent watch and it took me back to my 'film studies' days with the long walking scenes without dialogue in which you are able to understand the characters feelings by their gestures and small reactions to things.
example - The first couple are intrigued by Memphis and are looking around, taking in their surroundings. The widowed woman is holding in her emotion and becoming almost careless, walking alone and spending freely.

Anyway - I came on here hoping to find some trivia on the movie or some further clues into the meaning or intentions of Jarmusch.
The title being 'Mystery Train'
We see the train
The mystery?
Elvis ghost maybe. How they all end up at the same hotel maybe.

Also the number 22 features throughout.
The cost of the hotel rooms is $22 - as mentioned in the first two stories
The cost of the two bottles of liquor is $22 - before Strummer shoots the guy
The room Strummer and co stay in is Room 22

Also more randomly and maybe incorrect...
In the cafe, Luisa gives the weird guy who tells the Elvis ghost story $20. She then picks up his bill and her own for two coffees. Assuming they're $1 a cup. That again brings us to $22.
You could even assume that the total cost of all the magazines she buys would come somewhere in that region.

I'm just wondering if anyone can find the significance in this.
or... is this the actual mystery - a reocurring number that ties in the characters.
I'm not sure if it has any relevance at all - just thought this would be the place to find out

Wrestle-Rock @ www.myspace.com/thesentonbombs
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[–] shroomn 18 years ago

Very interesting – never even noticed that until now. I am not sure of any significance in the number 22 so I would imagine it may just be a small recurring theme meant to link the characters together beyond the Americana lifestyle and Memphis itself.

[–] jtyroler 17 years ago

I don't know the significance of the #22, but "Mystery Train" and "Blue Moon", the song on the radio were both recordings by Elvis Presley at Sun Studios.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] rsheppard-1 15 years ago

Yeah, there's definitely something going on with 2s, particularly 22. In my opinion, it has to do with relationships. The whole film is sort of getting at this idea of balanced relationships (actually about half of Jarmusch's movies seem to be getting at that, now that I've started to think about it). And two seems to be the ideal number here. Notice that the first two segments feature two people (in the second, both explicitly say that they don't like being alone, and both have recently lost their partners). There are also points in each of these segments where a third person is introduced to the room, setting off the balance, making things uncomfortable (the bellhop in the first, and elvis's ghost in the second). The final segment features a group of three, but still points to the harmony of two people. notice how buscemi's character is always trying to get himself left behind. then, when they get back to the hotel room, there's a sort of awkward moment where buscemi gets directed to sleep in the chair. The hotel employees form another pairing.

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