Blue in the Face

In Blue in the Face, Wayne Wang and Paul Auster continue working with the milieu around the cigar shop in Brooklyn and several of the characters who appeared in the duo's fantastic film "Smoke". The film is not your typical sequel, quite the opposite, and does not pretend to be one either. Blue in the Face is looser in structure; in fact it has no plot, but consists of a series of small episodes in which friends, customers and shop manager Auggie Wren talk about anything and everything. There are a few razor-sharp scenes, such as the encounter between Auggie and a young woman who has her bag stolen (Sorvino), but I could have done without Roseanne Barr. She is dreadfully tiresome.

The film is first and foremost characterised by its episodic structure, but in my eyes that is precisely its weakness too. It lacks momentum and more in-depth characterisation. Blue in the Face will inevitably send you to sleep if you are even the slightest bit tired.