AMG Review of Broken Flowers: Music from the Film

Heather Phares
All Music Guide

Like the soundtracks to all Jim Jarmusch films, Broken Flowers is another eclectic affair, gathering together garage rock, Ethiopian jazz, classic soul, and classical music. Even such disparate-sounding tracks as the Greenhornes and Holly Golightly's "There Is an End," Marvin Gaye's "I Want You," and Dengue Fever's "Ethanopium" have a warmth and elegance that unite them, while Sleep's logy but ferocious "Dopesmoker" and the Oxford Camerata's elegiac performance of Fauré's Requiem, Op. 48 (Pie Jesu) are polar opposites (even though the soundtrack's track listing makes them next-door neighbors). However, it's Mulatu Astatke's contributions to Broken Flowers that end up defining the soundtrack: "Yegelle Tezeta," "Yekermo Sew," and "Gubelye" are smoky, mysterious, and more than a little playful. As personal as a handmade mix (the role the music actually plays in the film), Broken Flowers is an unpredictable delight.