Comprehensive information and links about Broken Flowers

Broken Flowers comedy film directed, written and produced by Jim Jarmusch. It stars Bill Murray, Jeffrey Wright, Jessica Lange, Sharon Stone, and Julie Delpy. It opened August 5, 2005 in limited release.

In 2005 Cannes Film Festival, the film was nominated for "Golden Palm" Award and won "Grand Prize of the Jury".

The film is dedicated to French director Jean Eustache. In an interview, Jarmusch said he felt close to Eustache for his commitment to making films in a unique and independent fashion.

The main character Don Johnston receives an anonymous letter, supposedly from an unnamed former girlfriend, informing him that he has a 19-year-old son who is looking for him. At the same time, his current girlfriend Sherry (Julie Delpy) moves out. Don has lived the life of an archetypal womanizer, a "Don Juan", and any one of several former girlfriends may have written the letter. He initially doesn't intend to do anything with the information, but his friend and neighbor Winston (Jeffrey Wright), a mystery and detective enthusiast, convinces him to visit the four possible mothers:

Laura (Sharon Stone) works as closet organizer and is the widow of a racing car driver. She has a "jailbait" daughter, Lolita (Alexis Dziena), who walks around the house naked in front of Don.Dora (Frances ConroyBroken Flowers is a Realtor who hasn't yet let go of their past relationship. Her husband, Ron (Christopher McDonald), invites Don to an awkward dinner of fish, rice and chopped carrots.Carmen (Jessica Lange) works as an "animal communicator." Don recalls how she was formerly so passionate about becoming a lawyer, among other things. But "passion is a funny thing," she says, as Carmen appears to have developed a lesbian relationship with her attractive assistant (Chloë Sevigny).Penny (Tilda Swinton) lives in the country amongst blue-collar motorcycle enthusiasts. Having left Don years ago, she has no desire to reconcile with him now. When Don asks her whether she has a son, she gets upset; Don is beaten up by her friends as a result.

After the beating, Don stops at a florist to buy flowers from a friendly and attractive young woman named Sun Green (Pell James) who gives him a bandage. He leaves the flowers at the grave of another former girlfriend, Michelle Pepe. Earlier Don told Winston he had loved Michelle--his only mention of love throughout the film.

Disillusioned, Don returns home where he meets a young man in the street (*Mark Webber) who he suspects may be his son. He buys him food, but when he remarks that the young man may wonder whether Don is his father, the young man freaks out and flees. As Don looks on, he notices a Volkswagen Beetle drive past. The young man in the passenger side bears an uncanny resemblance to him.

Ending Interpretations

One possible interpretation for the ending, based on the pink typewriter in her yard and her upset reaction to Don's direct question about a son--clues the director has given the viewer--is that Penny wrote the letter. However her reaction suggests that perhaps she had an abortion after she left Don.

There is the suggestion that the boy in the car is most likely his son, but he is the third in a series of such suggestions, and this is deliberately ambiguous.

Another interpretation is that the letter may have been sent by his most recent girlfriend, Sherry, who is moving out at the beginning of the film. In this theory, Don never even had a son. On her way out, Sherry picks up the mail off the floor and pulls out the pink letter from the rest and puts it on top. Sherry tells Don "I feel like I'm your mistress, but you're not even married" and suggests the pink letter is from another one of his girlfriends. Finally she points to the family life of his neighbor Winston which seems so perfect. "Is that what you want?" Don asks.

Perhaps Sherry sent him the letter to see if he will take the responsibility and track down his son, proving to her that he is ready for a serious relationship. Towards the end of the film, it seems he is not only searching for his son because it is the right thing to do but also because he wants to have a son. He chases the kid down the street. When he stops and looks around, he realizes that either of the boys could be his son, and the letter was probably fake. With this interpretation, we can infer that Sherry will get back with him now that he has proven himself responsible. Also, we know that Bill Murray's character has finally grown up.

Bill Murray's son in real life, Homer Murray, actually has a credited appearance at the end of the movie. He is credited as "Kid in Car".