By Seana K. Magee
     Jim Jarmusch, the director and writer of ''The Limits of Control,'' which opened in Japan last month, said he aims to surprise moviegoers by catering to their imaginations rather than their expectations.
     The critically acclaimed American director also told Kyodo News in a recent interview in New York that he was largely bored with the typical Hollywood fare and wanted to give cinema lovers an alternative to the predictable format.
     ''So the whole idea of the film is to just open up your imagination a little and also to remove things you might expect from any kind of genre of film,'' the 56-year-old said.
     Jarmusch explained how he stripped away elements, such as the characters' backgrounds, their motivations, revenge and even drama to create ''something celebrating the artifice of cinema but making the frame of it more elastic.''
     Even the film's title, which was borrowed from an essay by William Burroughs, is meant to prompt questions, rather than provide answers.
     ''Does it mean the control that is applied over us or is it about our own control of ourselves, and what are the limits?'' he asked.
     The veteran filmmaker got his start in the 1980s and emerged from the New York arts scene with ''Stranger Than Paradise,'' a black and white movie which won the Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1984.
     Internationally renowned, he has a penchant for filming the ordinary and making it extraordinary. Honing in on everyday objects to give them a life of their own he often produces stunning visuals that serve as backdrops to characters whose stories unfold.
     ''My films are about smaller details of life and you know outsiders who are often traveling or moving through life like a metaphor,'' he said.
     ''Control'' is no different. With a nameless lead character, known only as ''Lone Man,'' he journeys on a mysterious mission throughout Spain.
     Played by Isaach De Bankole, a favorite who has appeared in multiple Jarmusch works, he is nearly silent and mostly unemotional as he carries out his task.
     Traversing locales as varied as Madrid, Seville and Almeria, he awaits cryptic messages to be delivered by characters including one played by Japanese actress Yuki Kudo.
     Kudo has gained critical acclaim for her roles in productions such as ''Memoirs of a Geisha,'' ''Snow Falling on Cedars'' and ''Picture Bride. ''She also appeared in Jarmusch's 1989 film, ''Mystery Train.''
     Known only as ''Molecules,'' Kudo and the other characters, such as ''Violin,'' ''Blonde,'' ''Guitar'' and ''Mexican,'' pepper their dialogue with nuggets of information, offering diverse slices of life on subjects as varied as cinema and science.
     Although Kudo appears only briefly, Jarmusch extolled her talents for captivating the screen with a playful portrayal of her character.
     Like the others, she presents the ''Lone Man'' with a message tucked inside a matchbox, which he promptly crumples up and washes down with espresso shots meticulously drunk from two cups.
     ''All of those characters that he encounters briefly are kind of metaphors for something, yet I wanted them to be humanized,'' he explained, referring to the international cast including such well known actors as American Bill Murray, British Tilda Swinton and Mexican Gael Garcia Bernal.
     He sees Kudo's character as an ''angel of the potential of science because of our imaginations.''
     Jarmusch was impressed not only with the way Kudo mastered a highly complex script written just the night before filming, but also with her ability to use her own creativity.
     ''She approached it very openly and very playfully and made a very beautiful character in just a short part of the film,'' he said.
     The director explained his affinity for things Japanese, which stretches beyond Kudo's addition to the cast and the musical inclusion of Boris, a Japanese band, performing the movie's main score.
     He appreciates Japan's contributions to culture, particularly pop culture and design, and finds anime and manga very innovative.
     ''I love the contradiction of embracing old things and then being the sponsor of new things,'' he explained. ''I love this contradiction of things being controlled and yet imaginations being very wild so it is fascinating.''
     This is also captured in Japanese cinema, which he regards as ''very much alive.''
     He cited Yasujiro Ozu, Mikio Naruse and Nagisa Oshima as among Japanese directors who have moved him but said he also appreciates other directors who have emerged over the last decade.
     ''I do not imitate them but I take anything that moves me deeply, goes into myself,'' he said.
     Sometimes his fascination with Japanese culture comes through in his portrayal of his characters or the subjects of other films, such as the 1999 ''Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.''
     In ''Control,'' the stoic leading man is described as ''samurai-like'' in how he prepares and executes his final goal. Like a warrior he shuns distractions. Intensely driven, he survives on little sleep, but always exercises extreme control.
     The actual inspiration for the character, however, came from a series of crime books authored by Donald Westlake who wrote them under his pen name, Richard Stark, Jarmusch said. They were based on a character named Parker, who is also the subject of the movie ''Point Blank.''
     Although he had not read any of the books in over 15 years, it was always his ambition to capture a Parker-like figure on film.
     ''I always say changes are good, you just have to think about them and try to follow the new way and not the old way,'' Jarmusch added, emphasizing the precarious times that are defining the current human condition.
     ''It is a crucial time now -- either people have to start using their imaginations or we all just run into the sea like lemmings.''
==Kyodo