 The film was shot in bright , primary colors rather than the black @-@ and @-@ white of the director 's previous features , but it retained his usual languid pacing . Jarmusch characterized the color choice as " intuitive " . He deliberately chose a cool color palette , eschewing yellows and oranges and using only sporadic dashes of red ( as in the Japanese couple 's ubiquitous suitcase ) . This motif of flashes of red was later described by Suzanne Scott of Reverse Shot as " giving the impression of a failed attempt to grab a bit of Elvis ’ s glamor and try it on for size , only to inevitably discover that it looks cartoonish out of context " . Stills from the film as well as on @-@ location shots of the actors and the film crew by photographer Masayoshi <unk> were published to accompany the film as the photo collection Mystery Train : A Film by Jim Jarmusch . 
