Unfortunately, the film's curious conceits remain implausible even on a fantasy level, and most of the satirical possibilities are either sidestepped or fumbled.

The charm of Bagdad Cafe is that every character and every moment is unanticipated, obscurely motivated, of uncertain meaning and vibrating with life.

Adlon here appears concerned less with the souls of his characters than with treating them as sentimental objects in some sort of metaphorical sideshow.

With the kindliest of intentions, [Percy Adlon] has parroted the racist stereotypes of the American-made culture that informed his attitudes.