EMOTION BLOSSOMS IN 'FLOWERS'.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic

YOU CAN IMAGINE what the past 20 years have been like for Don Johnston. Still, no amount of ``Miami Vice'' jokes can explain the man's perpetual vegetative state. Having made a bundle of money with computer technology, Don holes up in his home, blinds closed, listening to classical music while life goes on without him.

Small wonder that in the opening moments of Jim Jarmusch's bittersweet masterpiece ``Broken Flowers,'' Don (Bill Murray) finds himself being dumped. His French girlfriend Sherry (Julie Delpy) calls Don an ``over-the-hill Don Juan.'' Don's reaction: Indifference. In fact, detachment is Don's way of coping with everything.

Well, almost everything. On the day Sherry leaves, Don receives a pink anonymous letter from a former flame telling him he has a 19-year-old son. The news eats at him. He tells his Ethiopian neighbor, Winston (Jeffrey Wright), and since Winston is something of an amateur detective (and an enthusiastic one at that), he helps Don narrow down the possibilities to five women. Winston prepares an itinerary, books the planes and hotel rooms, and sends Don on his reluctant journey into the past.

``I've prepared the strategy, but only you can solve the mystery,'' Winston tells him. ``Why's that?'' Don asks. ``Because you understand women,'' Winston replies.

Maybe. But it's clear Don doesn't understand - much less like - himself. Don's subsequent road trip is pure Jarmusch, an off-center look at America as represented by the four women (one of Don's exes has died, leading him to a graveyard visit that will wring your heart) he seeks out. Each encounter provides a master class in close observation and character work, Murray's minimalist expressions careening against the many and varied responses of Jessica Lange, Sharon Stone, Frances Conroy and Tilda Swinton.

By the end of the trip, Don isn't so much broken as he is alive to the moment - and aware of the way he has slept through most of his life. Watch and listen during the movie's last shot - it's as if Don is hearing sounds and being present in the moment for the first time in his life. Is he a changed man? That's debatable. But he's certainly one that will live in your memory long after you've seen this wonderfully tender film.

Glenn Whipp, [phone]

glenn.whipp(at)dailynews.com

BROKEN FLOWERS - Four stars

(R: language, nudity, drug use)

Starring: Bill Murray, Sharon Stone, Frances Conroy, Jessica Lange, Tilda Swinton, Jeffrey Wright.

Director: Jim Jarmusch.

Running time: 1 hr. 45 min.

Playing: Laemmle's Sunset 5 in West Los Angeles; Laemmle's Monica in Santa Monica.

In a nutshell: Jim Jarmusch's melancholy masterpiece has Bill Murray doing his minimalist thing as an aging lothario looking to find answers about his past and about himself.

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Photo:

Christopher McDonald, left, Bill Murray and Frances Conroy share a toast in ``Broken Flowers.''