STRANGER THAN PARADISE & NIGHT ON EARTH
“I don’t know.” , the delightful deadbeat breakout film by writer/director Jim Jarmusch with its whack-character studies, unactorly acting, absurdist deadpan humor, and minimalist style brilliantly captured the mood of its time. It also established him as an instant auteur of the $100,000-budget, low-production-value indie-film scene and inspired many others to do likewise. Comparisons with early Wim Wenders road movies are warranted, but the need-to-be-free-despite-ignorance-of-what-we-want themes also share elements with Martin Scorsese’s , John Cassavettes’ and , and Federico Fellini’s . The aimless street-guy figures in goof around, ambling through life without a plan beyond the immediate pleasures of gambling, drinking, and endlessly driving. The plot consists solely of an unwelcome visit from a 16-year-old cousin from Hungary, a later a road trip to see her in Cleveland, and a pointless excursion to Florida. The characters are often shown watching a late-night movie on TV or at the cinema, but we’re never shown the film; instead we watch the passive faces of the watchers, and it comes across with grace and beauty.
