All of those “Patersons” may seem like an indie film affectation, but they’re an homage. Paterson, who writes poetry when he’s not ferrying passengers, has a favorite poet: William Carlos Williams, who worked in the nearby town of Rutherford during the first half of the 20th century. Williams is probably best known for his simple, elegant poem, “This is Just to Say.” But he also wrote an epic, five-part poem called, yes, “Paterson.” In a 1943 letter to the author and poet Robert McAlmon, Williams declared that “Paterson” the poem would be “a psychological-social panorama of a city treated as if it were a man, the man Paterson.” [...]
Paterson has been accused (not unaffectionately) of depicting an unrealistic utopia, particularly in terms of racial harmony. Indeed, Paterson the man is friendly with everyone, and aside from a young white girl with whom he converses briefly, he is the only white character in the movie. (His wife, Laura, is Iranian, his friends at the bar are black, his colleague at the bus depot is Indian.) Jarmusch’s city is also a utopia of post-industrial working class life. The mills are long gone, and they’re not coming back; still, Paterson’s life is a good one. [...]
Paterson leaves one with a feeling of appreciation, if not hope. Not just for America, for the working class, and for race relations—but for walkable, dense, public-transport-loving, inclusive cities. If CityLab gave out movie awards, it might very well get Best Picture.
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