what might sound like an ordinary gangster picture is in fact a rich amalgam of crisscrossing genres, where East meets West and culture itself follows more than one Way.

Even when aware of all the strange, disparate elements, it still surprises.

At once a tribute to traditional notions of honour, loyalty, friendship and professionalism, and a stylish, ironic pastiche inspired by the likes of Melville and Suzuki, it's very funny, insightful, and highly original.

Jarmusch, with his aesthetic density, manages to direct it with a balance that never loses its sense of irony when it questions the various cultural stereotypes that build his dialectical discourse on the master and the vassal. [Full review in Spanish]