The Limits of Control

(USA, 2008, 112 minutes)

A mysterious man travels across Spain meeting various strangers who give him indications to perform an assignment. Essentially a hitman thriller decelerated to the point where nothing ever happens, this mystifyingly opaque, breathtakingly handled moodpiece erring on the side of experimentalism is too offbeat for mainstream viewers but should be rapturously received by those seeking something else.

Focus Features presents, in association with Entertainment Farm, a Pointblank Films production. Starring Isaach de Bankolé, Alex Descas, Jean-François Stévenin, Luis Tosar, Paz de la Huerta, Tilda Swinton, Youki Kudoh, John Hurt, Gael García Bernal, Hiam Abbass, Bill Murray. Directed and written by Jim Jarmusch; produced by Stacey Smith, Gretchen McGowan; music by Boris; director of photography (DeLuxe), Christopher Doyle; production designer, Eugenio Caballero; costume designer, Bina Daigeler; film editor, Jay Rabinowitz.