Blue in the Face

Wang and Auster had so many ideas and incidents left over from Smoke that they knocked out this mostly improvised feature in one week after finishing the shoot of the other film. Prior commitments prevented most of the Smoke cast from sticking around, so this centres on Keitel's Auggie Wren and makes his tobacco store the centre of a freewheeling Brooklyn universe. Roseanne barges in as the semi-detached wife of the owner, Lily Tomlin hangs around as the bag lady, Fox intercepts passers-by with a questionnaire, Jim Jarmusch buys what he says will be his last packet of cigarettes and Madonna drops in to sing a telegram. It's hit and miss, of course, but its slacker charm perfectly complements the dovetailed plotting of Smoke. A celebration of loose ends that will have you thinking of a move to Brooklyn.