I came to Jim Jarmusch's films quite late in the day (Deadman was the first I saw) but I'm glad I finally did.
Whereas the films of Terrence Malick are profoundly lyrical and moving, and those of David Lynch disturbingly exotic for most viewers, the films of Jim Jarmusch take the ordinary and very prosaic aspects of society, and its denizens, and lifts them all up to the reality that it truly is.
We all know that our lives are fairly mundane, for most of us; that we all have to slog away at our tiny little dreams to try to make sense of our own little worlds; and that we all have to do whatever we can to relate to those who are close to us. But Paradise? Well, that's such a remote word that few give it a moment's thought, except the religious of course. Well, here's Jim Jarmusch's answer for all those who suffer from Paradise-deprived angst: it's right in front of you. Everyday. That's all there is, pilgrim.
The story traces the quite uneventful days of three main characters: Willie (John Lurie), a cheap hustler who tries to get by, any way he can this side of the law; Eddie (Richard Edson), his friend, a somewhat dull-witted, guileless sort of guy who just wants to please; and Eva (Eszter Balint), Willie's cousin who unexpectedly arrives from Hungary on her way to visit her old aunt in Cleveland, Ohio.
Eva stays a few days with Willie, meets Eddie, sits and watches TV with Willie for hours on end, cleans up his apartment, Willie buys her a dress and, a day later, Eva leaves to go to Cleveland, dumping the dress Willie bought for her in a trash can while Eddie looks on. Not a scintillating story line at all, according to a review I read a while back. But, wait there's more A year after Eva leaves, Willie and Eddie decide to visit her in Cleveland, and after a long trip by auto, they both arrive to stay with Willie's aunt and renew their acquaintance with Eva. After a few days' sightseeing in the frozen north, so to speak, with Eddie's not-so-memorable summation of a frozen Lake Erie: "It's beautiful", Willie invites Eva to go with them to Florida. She agrees, much to the old aunt's disgust and anger. As they leave, she mutters, "Son of a bitch!"
So, is this a road movie in disguise? Well, we know that Jim Jarmusch loves autos, roads and cities because all of his movies (except Deadman) include those modern icons so indicative of America and the post-industrial world. So, it is one, in that in a sense, but now it's really about Willie and Eddie wanting to make a lot of money the Great American Dream -- on the betting tracks in Florida. And Eva is no doubt attracted by the thought of money also.
After another relatively long sequence of shots on freeways, they end up at a motel, on a beach, somewhere on the Florida coast. The next morning the guys go off to the dog track, leaving Eva asleep. When they come back, almost broke, Willie's browned off with Eddie for suggesting it, Eddie's browned off by Willie's attitude and Eva's browned off with both of them for being left alone. Willie, with Eddie, then takes the last fifty bucks to the horses, wins big and comes back to celebrate. However To say any more would be to reveal just how Jim Jarmusch injects his own special brand of chaos and irony in all of his movies. And, if you've come this far in this review, I'd recommend you see it.
I loved this movie: the great acting, the B/W photography, the strident and discordant music, the sharp cuts to black, the sparse and so very ordinary dialog. It was so ordinary, and yet promised so much to the players and all players who are looking for their own Paradise. But, Paradise is but a dream, and our realities are truly stranger. If you're a Jarmusch fan, you'll see it: in a way, it's an exposition of the extraordinary nature of ordinary humans and how they live.
But, it's not a movie for action fans or those who must have an upbeat and unrealistic ending.
Whereas the films of Terrence Malick are profoundly lyrical and moving, and those of David Lynch disturbingly exotic for most viewers, the films of Jim Jarmusch take the ordinary and very prosaic aspects of society, and its denizens, and lifts them all up to the reality that it truly is.
We all know that our lives are fairly mundane, for most of us; that we all have to slog away at our tiny little dreams to try to make sense of our own little worlds; and that we all have to do whatever we can to relate to those who are close to us. But Paradise? Well, that's such a remote word that few give it a moment's thought, except the religious of course. Well, here's Jim Jarmusch's answer for all those who suffer from Paradise-deprived angst: it's right in front of you. Everyday. That's all there is, pilgrim.
The story traces the quite uneventful days of three main characters: Willie (John Lurie), a cheap hustler who tries to get by, any way he can this side of the law; Eddie (Richard Edson), his friend, a somewhat dull-witted, guileless sort of guy who just wants to please; and Eva (Eszter Balint), Willie's cousin who unexpectedly arrives from Hungary on her way to visit her old aunt in Cleveland, Ohio.
Eva stays a few days with Willie, meets Eddie, sits and watches TV with Willie for hours on end, cleans up his apartment, Willie buys her a dress and, a day later, Eva leaves to go to Cleveland, dumping the dress Willie bought for her in a trash can while Eddie looks on. Not a scintillating story line at all, according to a review I read a while back. But, wait there's more A year after Eva leaves, Willie and Eddie decide to visit her in Cleveland, and after a long trip by auto, they both arrive to stay with Willie's aunt and renew their acquaintance with Eva. After a few days' sightseeing in the frozen north, so to speak, with Eddie's not-so-memorable summation of a frozen Lake Erie: "It's beautiful", Willie invites Eva to go with them to Florida. She agrees, much to the old aunt's disgust and anger. As they leave, she mutters, "Son of a bitch!"
So, is this a road movie in disguise? Well, we know that Jim Jarmusch loves autos, roads and cities because all of his movies (except Deadman) include those modern icons so indicative of America and the post-industrial world. So, it is one, in that in a sense, but now it's really about Willie and Eddie wanting to make a lot of money the Great American Dream -- on the betting tracks in Florida. And Eva is no doubt attracted by the thought of money also.
After another relatively long sequence of shots on freeways, they end up at a motel, on a beach, somewhere on the Florida coast. The next morning the guys go off to the dog track, leaving Eva asleep. When they come back, almost broke, Willie's browned off with Eddie for suggesting it, Eddie's browned off by Willie's attitude and Eva's browned off with both of them for being left alone. Willie, with Eddie, then takes the last fifty bucks to the horses, wins big and comes back to celebrate. However To say any more would be to reveal just how Jim Jarmusch injects his own special brand of chaos and irony in all of his movies. And, if you've come this far in this review, I'd recommend you see it.
I loved this movie: the great acting, the B/W photography, the strident and discordant music, the sharp cuts to black, the sparse and so very ordinary dialog. It was so ordinary, and yet promised so much to the players and all players who are looking for their own Paradise. But, Paradise is but a dream, and our realities are truly stranger. If you're a Jarmusch fan, you'll see it: in a way, it's an exposition of the extraordinary nature of ordinary humans and how they live.
But, it's not a movie for action fans or those who must have an upbeat and unrealistic ending.