Saturday Night At The Movies
Narrative Structure is for Wussies: An Appreciation of Jim Jarmusch
By Dennis Hartley
This week I wanted to give the Criterion Collection “two snaps up” for their recent DVD reissues of two essential titles from iconoclastic indie director Jim Jarmusch-his influential 1984 film “Stranger Than Paradise” and (arguably) one of his most underrated films, “Night on Earth” (originally released in 1991).
It’s hard to believe that 23 years have passed (Jesus I’m getting old) since “Stranger Than Paradise” firmly established Jarmusch’s unique, patented blend of long, static camera takes with his inscrutably deadpan observances on the inherent silliness of homo sapiens. It’s always a challenge doing a synopsis of a Jarmusch film (trust me, they are much more entertaining on screen than they appear on paper) but I’ll give it my best shot…
Jarmusch regular John Lurie is Willie, a brooding, too-cool-for-school New York City slacker who spends most of his time hanging out with his endearingly goofy buddy Eddie (Richard Edson). Both men suffer from terminal boredom, which is somewhat alleviated by their bemused, low-key bickering (leave it to Jarmusch to create characters who manage to be remain bored and uninspired while living in the world’s most exciting city! But then again, wasn’t that the very premise behind “Seinfeld”? Discuss.)
Enter Eva (Eszter Balint), Willie’s long-lost teenaged cousin from Hungary, who unexpectedly shows up one day (much to his chagrin). Eddie is intrigued, but the misanthropic Willie has no desire for a new roommate, blood relative or not, and Eva decides after a few days that she would probably find more welcoming accommodations with the pair’s Aunt Lotte (delightfully played by Cecillia Stark), who lives in Cleveland.
Flash forward one year, and we find Willie and Eddie still sitting around the apartment, still bored silly, still engaged in the same petty bickering. Eddie convinces Willie that a road trip to Cleveland (in the middle of winter?!) might be just the ticket to break them out of their rut. Willie grumpily agrees, and off they go to visit Aunt Lotte and cousin Eva. In order to avoid spoilers for those who have not seen the film, suffice it to say that the interpersonal relationships take some unexpected turns, and more road trips ensue. Oh-and I guarantee you will have Screamin’ Jay Hawkins tunes in your head for days!
It’s worth noting that future director Tom DiCillo did the fine black and white DP work on the film, demonstrating an eye for gleaning the strange beauty in the stark, wintry, industrial flatness of Cleveland and its Lake Erie environs. (BTW, in case you missed my review of Tom DiCillo’s newest film, “Delirious” you’ll find it here.)
“Stranger Than Paradise” is generally held up along with a select handful of early 1980’s releases (like Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It
If there is a “sleeper” in the Jarmusch catalog, it would have to his ode to taxi drivers, “Night on Earth”. There have been several PAL DVDs available for some time; the Criterion release marks the domestic debut. As per usual, it’s the Europeans who seem to be the first ones to “get” any American filmmaker of consequence, long before the homeland audience catches on-I guess we’re too busy standing in line to see “Jackass 2” to be bothered (Do I sound bitter?)
“Night on Earth” is framed by a structural device that Jarmusch had previously utilized in his 1989 film “Mystery Train”; it is a collection of loosely connected vignettes that all take place in the course of one evening. The main difference between the two films lies in the location setting; “Mystery Train” takes place in one city, and “Night on Earth” is spread out over five cities and two continents (the director had toyed with the title “LosAngelesNewYorkParisRomeHelsinki”, but wisely decided it was too unwieldy).
Our five-course meal gets off to a shaky start in Los Angeles, with a relatively flat segment that is a bit underwritten (perhaps on purpose, as it is an obvious homage to John Cassavetes, who was famous for working without scripts). Wynona Rider plays an outspoken, gum cracking cabbie who picks up a fare at the airport (Gena Rowlands) who turns out to be a Hollywood casting director (er-guess what happens). It’s worth sitting through just to see these two interesting actresses working together, if nothing else.
Don’t let the bland appetizer put you off, however, because things improve rapidly with the second vignette, which takes place in New York City. Spike Lee regulars Giancarlo Esposito and Rosie Perez hitch a late night ride to Brooklyn with an amiable German cabbie (Armin Mueller-Stahl) whose driving skills (and sense of NYC geography) are marginal at best. Jamusch milks maximum laughs out of the cross-cultural pollination that ensues (a recurring theme in his films). The three actors are wonderful together.
Next, we jump the pond over to Paris, where an African immigrant cab driver (Isaach De Bankole) has endured a long night of racist insults and obnoxious passengers. He spots a blind woman (the ever intense Beatrice Dalle, who dazzled in one of my favorite French films of all time, “Betty Blue”) and offers her a ride, thinking “at least she won’t cause me any trouble”. Naturally, he’s wrong! A clever parable about stereotyping.
The next stop on the European leg is Rome, where the most consistently amusing installment takes place, featuring comic actor Roberto Benigni in the driver’s seat. Veteran character actor Paolo Bonacelli (you may recall his memorable turn as the creepy, sadistic Turkish jail keeper in “Midnight Express”) plays a priest who is in for the shock of his life after getting into Benigni’s cab. Bonacelli, an actor with a marvelously expressive face, is a joy to watch as he registers steadily increasing horror while Benigni cheerfully and matter-of-factly recounts a lifetime’s list of “sins” in an unsolicited taxicab Confession that gets exponentially funnier along with the steadily escalating depravity of the acts being described (not unlike the legendary joke featured in “The Aristocrats” ).
The final segment makes for a bittersweet dessert. Jarmusch pays homage to his favorite director (and drinking buddy), Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismaki (I loved his 2002 film “The Man Without a Past”-a real gem). A Helsinki cab driver (Matti Pellonpa) picks up a trio of working stiffs who are stumbling home after a long night of drinking. Alternately sad and darkly funny (in that peculiarly Scandinavian fashion) as passengers and driver compete to top each other’s sob story in order to establish which one of them is leading the most depressing and miserable existence (some form of traditional Finnish male bonding?). Three of the actors in the piece are Kaurismaki regulars. And just in case we still don’t get the connection, Jarmusch even named one of the drunken characters “Aki”!
Overall, ”Night on Earth” achieves a satisfying synchronicity as a thoughtful meditation on certain universal truths that govern the human condition, regardless of cultural orientation or geographical location (and delivers it in a much more entertaining and less heavy handed manner than the recent spate of dreary, overrated, self-important “message” films like “21 Grams”, “Babel” and the particularly execrable “Crash”).
Jarmusch 101-The Report Card:
Stranger Than Paradise 
Ghost Dog – The Way of the Samurai
Night on Earth
Dead Man
Down by Law 
Mystery Train
Broken Flowers
Year of the Horse
Coffee and Cigarettes
Permanent Vacation
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