West Germany/USA | 1987 | Directed by Percy Adlon
Logline: When a German tourist is abandoned near a Californian desert café motel she brings with her disruption and joy to all the staff, guests and patrons.
A film festival favourite when it was first released, Bagdad Cafe (originally titled Out Of Rosenheim) is the quintessential 80s arthouse comedy; a quirky character study of eccentricities, idiosyncrasies, and sly observations of Americana from the viewpoint of a Bavarian husband and wife filmmaking team, Percy and Eleonare Adlon. They co-wrote the script, she produced, and he directed).
Ostensibly a light-hearted drama, it melds German fastidiousness with American casual asides, with amusing and endearing insight. There are touches of surrealism as the movie drifts like the tumbleweed, feeling both meandering and succinct in strangely equal measure. Yes it feels dated, but there is something timeless to this dusty gem that glimmers in the sun like a desert rose.
The cast is a delight: Marianne Sagebrecht as Jasmin Munchgstettner, who’s “out of Rosenheim”, CCH Pounder as Brenda-at-the-end-of-her-tether, Jack Palance as ex-Hollywood scenic artist Rudi Cox, Darron Flagg as Brenda’s Bach-loving son Sal, Monica Calhoun as Brenda’s precocious daughter Phyllis, Christine Kaufmann as sultry resident tattooist Debby, and Apesanahkwat as plaited Native American Indian Sheriff Arnie, and of course, not forgetting the Sidewinder Cafe that became Bagdad Cafe for the movie (and subsequently changed its name to cash in on the film’s enormous success).
Director Adlon and cinematographer Bernd Heinl use Dutch tilts, filters and close-ups like they’re going on out of fashion. The movie’s rich palette gorgeously reflects the array of colourful characters. But it’s all centered around Ms. Jasmin and the effect she has on everything around her, especially after she starts to dabble with the magic set she finds in Brenda’s cluttered office. It’s not just the coffee maker/thermos her husband left by the side of the road that made its way into Bagdad Cafe and provided everyone with a much-needed pick-me-up, Jasmin is the true zest the café craved.
The melancholy theme song, Calling You, by Bob Telson and sung by Jevetta Steele, wafts like the thick aroma of Arabica coffee, on a hot dry wind from Vegas to nowhere. It was nominated for an Academy Award. Also of note is the use of Bach’s sublime C-Major Prelude from the Well Tempered Claviar.
Bagdad Cafe is an unassuming tale that quietly stirs the soul and lingers in the mind long after the burnt orange sun sets behind that little cafe just around the bend. Get yourself some of that boomerang magic and sweet, deep crema, it’ll brighten up your day. “I … am calling you … Can’t you hear me?”