Bagdad Cafe

The Bagdad Cafe is a 1987 film from the German director Percy Adlon. The film was shot in America and the dialogue is in English.

The story of the Bagdad Cafe follows the life of a German woman named Jasmin Munchgstettner who is touring America with her husband. They are near the end of their trip in the Mojave Desert in Nevada when she decides she can't stand being with him anymore. They have a fight outside the Bagdad Cafe, which is run by a tough African-American woman named Brenda who has just had a fight with her own husband as well.

Both Jasmin and Brenda's husbands leave, which in Brenda's case puts the burden of running the Bagdad Cafe fully on her shoulders, and in Jasmin's case leaves her stranded in a foreign country with no job or connections.

But Jasmin is not a cowering woman. Jasmin, heavyset, tight-laced, and impeccably hair-sprayed, rents herself a room at the hotel beside the Bagdad Cafe. When she sees that the room is not to her standards, she takes matters into her own hands, finds a mop, and begins to clean her room.

She doesn't stop there though. Once she is done with her room, she moves out into the hallway and on into the other hotel rooms, encountering strange and humorous occupants along the way. Diverse characters include an Italian cook, a tattoo artist, and a former Hollywood set painter played by the famous American actor Jack Palance.

Although Jasmin is dismayed by these desert peoples' low standards of cleanliness and presentation, their relaxed demeanors and easy ways begin to grow on her as she gets to know them. It doesn't take long for her to loosen up and reveal her hidden talent to them. Jasmin can do magic tricks which are so impressive, they begin to draw customers to the Bagdad Cafe, saving Brenda's business.