A slow black and white film full of long pauses and minimal dialogue, Stranger Than Paradise can be a tough movie to watch for someone who is weaned on American pop cinema. It's constructed out of a series of shorts, stitched together to create a (somewhat) coherent whole. Two small time hustlers take their poker winnings and travel on a series of misadventures around America joined by the cousin of one of the con-men, an immigrant from Hungary. As with some of Jim Jarmusch's films, the focus is on the mundane in everyday life and how the characters approach it. The characters are looking for meaning in their empty and repetitious lives. Sort of an anti-road movie, there is some dry humor to break up the tedium. (6 out of 10)
Review of Stranger Than Paradise
