(Played at the Midnight Screenings Section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival)
Coming out of the rock n’ roll music scene in Detroit that would launch such acts as the Amboy Dukes featuring Ted Nugent and the widely influential proto-punk band the MC5 are the Stooges. Consisting of vocalist James Osterberg aka Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexander that would later include saxophonist Steve Mackay and guitarist James Williamson. The Stooges from 1969 to 1973 would release three studio albums that many believe helped laid the blueprint and foundation for what would become punk rock in the late 1970s. Like other legendary proto-punk bands such as the MC5 and the Velvet Underground before them as well as the New York Dolls. The Stooges weren’t commercially successful as the group disbanded in 1973 in a haze of drugs and destruction months after the release of their third album Raw Power.
Shot largely in the 2010s before the passing of drummer Scott Asheton in 2014 and saxophonist Steve Mackay in 2015 as they’re both interviewed in the film along with archival interviews from Ron Asheton in the 1980s and 2000s before his own passing in 2009. The film showcases the band’s struggle to get some mainstream success despite being in not just this vibrant music scene in Detroit that wasn’t Motown but also a growing avant-garde music scene in Ann Arbor, Michigan that featured the likes of John Cage. The most prominent talking voice in the film is Iggy Pop as there are scenes with him and Scott Asheton having conversations about their time in the band with Pop and Asheton along with the latter’s younger sister Kathy talking about their early lives. Pop also goes into detail about what makes the Stooges’ music unique where they weren’t just influenced by their environment but also a lot of the underground music that was coming out as well as jazz as the band loved John Coltrane and Miles Davis.
Despite their limitations as musicians, the Stooges were able to come up with ideas that allowed them to grow musically with Pop doing a lot to establish not just what the Ashetons brought to the band but also bassist Dave Alexander who was mastermind for one of the band’s key songs from their 1969 debut album We Will Fall with producer John Cale on viola. Pop also talked about why Alexander was fired from the band in late 1970 as it wasn’t an easy decision with Scott talking about Alexander’s final years that lead to his death in 1975 due to complications relating to alcoholism. Several bass players would come in from 1970 and 1971 with James Williamson joining the group as a second guitarist where a lot of inactivity and being dropped by Elektra Records after two albums lead to a hiatus for the band despite manager Danny Fields’ efforts to help the band find a new label as he is also interviewed in the film. Fields’ loyalty would get Pop to meet David Bowie and his then-manager Tony DeFries where Pop revealed the deal he made with the latter as he described the contract he sign is similar to the one that TLC signed 2 decades later where they have sold 10 million copies of an album and declare bankruptcy.
Though Bowie would use whatever time he had in helping the Stooges in doing additional re-mixing of their 1973 album Raw Power, it wasn’t enough where Pop revealed a lot of sabotaging from DeFries is what stalled the album as well as not having the band do a lot of shows during that time. The film opens with the final months of the Stooges who were playing gigs to an audience that were either hostile or indifferent towards them with Pop, Williamson, and Scott Asheton all reflecting on how these events led to the band’s dissolution. For Jim Jarmusch to open with that story helps set the tone for the chaos on the story of the Stooges as well as little tidbits on Pop’s solo career that was successful which included a rare top 40 hit in the early 90s with Candy featuring Kate Pierson of the B-52s.
It was in the late 1990s when Mike Watt of the Minutemen and fIREHOSE who worked with Ron Asheton in creating music for the 1998 Todd Haynes film Velvet Goldmine for Ewan McGregor’s Curt Wild character is when Ron became interested in playing Stooges music again with J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. that lead to Scott joining in the project with Mascis and Watt. That eventually led to the Stooges’ reunion in the early 2000s with Watt playing bass for the band where the band played massive festivals including Coachella as it not only gave the band a lot of attention but also money that kept the Asheton brothers from returning to steady jobs while James Williamson was a record producer for a time and eventually an executive for Sony until he returned to the Stooges in 2010 to replace Ron Asheton.
Jarmusch’s direction is largely straightforward as many of the interviews he shot with cinematographer Tom Krueger have Pop, Scott and Kathy Asheton, Steve Mackey, James Williamson, and Danny Fields in unique settings with Pop and Scott having their conversation at Pop’s home. Even as Jarmusch brought in animator James Kerr to create some animated sequences in some of the stories including a phone conversation between Ron Asheton and Moe Howard of the Three Stooges where the latter told him “as long as you don’t fucking call yourself the Three Stooges”. There is also some visual effects work from Chris King that help play into the animation including a scene where Pop is talking and the film gets fuzzy like the old TVs back then. Much of the work that Jarmusch does comes from archival footage thanks in part to the work of editors Affonso Goncalves and Adam Kurnitz who help cultivate as much archival footage from the band in the early 70s as well as rare footage of the Ashetons’ lives following the Stooges’ dissolution including interviews with Ron in the 80s through early 2000s.
Sound designer Robert Hein does superb work in not just capturing many of the audio archives but also some of the interviews and the way the music is presented as much of its music soundtrack features not just music from the Stooges but also other artists including some such as the Sex Pistols, the Damned, the Dictators, Sonic Youth, and David Bowie covering Stooges songs. It shows exactly the vast influence the group had as they were inducted into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2010 though it was a bittersweet moment considering that it happened a year after Ron Asheton’s passing.
Gimme Danger is a tremendous film from Jim Jarmusch. Not only is it a great documentary about one of the most dangerous acts in popular music but also one of the most influential in terms of their raw approach to rock music. Especially for a band that didn’t get their due during their prime but eventually would receive a lot more in the 21st Century while Iggy Pop continues to have an illustrious solo career. In the end, Gimme Danger is a sensational film from Jim Jarmusch.
Jim Jarmusch Films: Permanent Vacation - Stranger Than Paradise - Down by Law - Mystery Train - Night on Earth - Dead Man - Year of the Horse - Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai - Coffee and Cigarettes - Broken Flowers - The Limits of Control - Only Lovers Left Alive - Paterson - (The Dead Don’t Die) - The Auteurs #23: Jim Jarmusch
© thevoid99 2023
(Winner of the Palm Dog Award to Nellie (posthumous) at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival)
Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, Paterson is the story of the week in the life of a bus driver who writes poetry to let his day go by. The film is a simple story of a man and his simple life as he lives in a small town in New Jersey as writes about what he sees. Starring Adam Driver, Golshifteh Farahani, Cliff “Method Man” Smith, Chasten Harmon, William Jackson Harper. Masatoshi Nagase, and Barry Shabaka Henley. Paterson is an extraordinarily rich film from Jim Jarmusch.
The film is the story of a bus driver from Paterson, New Jersey who drives the same route every day in the course of a week as he has a routine that he does in his job and in his life while he writes poetry about his surroundings and the things he sees in his life. It’s a film with a simple premise as it follows the week in the life of the titular character (Adam Driver) as he also has a wife named Laura (Golshifteh Farahani) who dreams of becoming a country singer and opening her own cupcake store. Jim Jarmusch’s screenplay is largely told in the span of seven days as it follows Paterson driving the same bus route every day as he listens to the different passengers he has and then returns home to see what Laura has done in creating curtains, clothing, and such and then would walk their English bulldog Marvin (Nellie) on the way to a local bar where he chats with its bartender Doc (Barry Shabaka Henley).
During these days at work, he would see different set of twins as well as see a couple argue every once in a while at Doc’s bar as it play into his life that he would write about in his poetry as the poems are written by Ron Padgett which also references the work of William Carlos William who wrote a book of poems after the city. While Paterson is a good poet, he’s reluctant in having them published as he prefers to keep it to himself to emphasize his lack of ambition and just settle for what he has while being supportive of Laura’s many dreams.
Jarmusch’s direction doesn’t bear a lot of visual styles other than emphasizing on repetitious compositions to play into Paterson’s day-to-day routine in the course of a week. Shot on location in Paterson, New Jersey which is a character in the film in the many different street corners as well as the waterfalls including the Great Falls of the Passaic River where Paterson would often eat lunch and write poetry during his lunch break. While Jarmusch would use some wide shots of the entire city and its locations, much of the direction involves him using close-ups and medium shots to play into the intimacy of the bus that Paterson drives as well as the scenes at his home with Laura and the scenes at the bar. Still, Jarmusch’s approach to repetition as the path where Paterson walks to the bus station as he passes by old and abandoned factories along the way as well as the path he would walk Marvin to the bar show his simple routine as there’s something different that happens every once in a while. Even as the weekend approaches where Laura would receive a guitar that she wanted to learn to be a country singer as well as a bake sale that is happening on that Saturday.
While Paterson’s lack of ambitions of having his poems published do emphasize the need to keep his work for himself as he would meet a 10-year old girl who also wrote a poem as she would keep it in a secret notebook. It also showcases the power of poetry when it has someone writing for himself such as a moment late in the film where Paterson meets a Japanese tourist (Masatoshi Nagase) who is at the town due to his interest in poetry and the town itself. Though Paterson may write about ordinary things about what he sees, hears, or remembers, he uses poetry as a way to feel alive rather than express it publicly for vanity. Overall, Jarmusch crafts a tender yet intoxicating film about the week in the life of a poetic bus driver in Paterson, New Jersey.
Cinematographer Frederick Elmes does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as it is largely straightforward to play into the natural look of the city in the day and night including the low-key lights for the scenes at the bar. Editor Affonso Goncalves does brilliant work with the editing with its stylish usage of jump-cuts, superimposed dissolves for the poetry scenes, and some transitional fade-outs. Production designer Mark Friedberg, with set decorator Lydia Marks and art director Kim Jennings, does fantastic work with the interiors of the bar as well as some of the creations that Laura made in the curtains at the home she shares with Paterson.
Costume designer Catherine George does amazing work with the clothes that Laura wears that is very stylish with its emphasis on black-and-white while maintaining a more casual look for the rest of the characters in the film. Sound designer Robert Hein does superb work with the sound in capturing the way a bus would sound when it is turned on as well as other low-key yet sparse textures in many of the film’s location. The film’s music by Carter Logan, Jim Jarmusch, and Squrl is terrific for its ambient-based score that appears in a few scenes to play into Paterson’s sense of wonderment while the rest of the music soundtrack appears largely in scenes in the bar or on location as it include cuts by Teddy Pendergrass, Reuben Wilson, Killer Mike, Pouran, Tammy Wynette, Lester Young, Gary Carter, Bad Medicine, and Jerry Brightman.
The casting by Ellen Lewis and Meghan Rafferty is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles from Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as a couple of students talking about anarchy on the bus, Sterling Jerins as a young poet that Paterson meets on his way home from work, Chasten Harmon and William Jackson Harper in their respective roles as Marie and Everett as this bickering couple who frequent at the bar, Rizwan Manji as a co-worker of Paterson in Donny, and Cliff “Method Man” Smith as himself working on a rhyme. Masatoshi Nagase is superb as the Japanese tourist that Paterson meets late in the film who shares his love of poetry as well as the work of William Carlos William. Barry Shabaka Henley is excellent as the bartender Doc as a man who loves to play chess and chat with Paterson about their town and the many wonders of their small town.
Golshifteh Farahani is incredible as Laura as a lively woman with big dreams of being a country singer, making cupcakes, and all sorts of things as someone who is supportive of Paterson’s poetry while wanting to ensure they have a good and thriving life. Finally, there’s Adam Driver in a sensational performance as the titular character as bus driver who drives many people around the town of Paterson as he spends a bit of time writing poetry as well as observe all that is around as it’s a quiet yet endearing performance from Driver.
Paterson is a phenomenal film from Jim Jarmusch that features great performances from Adam Driver and Golshifteh Farahani. Along with its low-key approach to storytelling, poetic tone, naturalistic visuals, and a soothing score. It’s a film that showcases a week in the life of an ordinary man who proves to be just as fascinating as everyone else around him though prefers to keep it quiet. In the end, Paterson is a spectacular film from Jim Jarmusch.
Jim Jarmusch Films: Permanent Vacation - Stranger Than Paradise - Down by Law - Mystery Train - Night on Earth - Dead Man - Year of the Horse - Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai - Coffee and Cigarettes - Broken Flowers - The Limits of Control - Only Lovers Left Alive - Gimme Danger – (The Dead Don't Die) - The Auteurs #27: Jim Jarmusch
© thevoid99 2018
Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, Only Lovers Left Alive is the story of two vampire lovers reuniting when one wants to end his eternity as their reunion is shattered by the arrival of one’s sister. The film is a unique take on the vampire story as it plays to the fallacy of eternal life that revolves around a group of vampires who live in a strange world ranging from Tangiers to Detroit. Starring Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, Anton Yelchin, Jeffrey Wright, and John Hurt. Only Lovers Left Alive is a compelling and intoxicating film from Jim Jarmusch.
The film explores the lives of two vampire lovers who had lived for countless centuries as they reunite after some time apart as they cope with not just mortality but also the human race. Even as these two lovers in Adam (Tom Hiddleston) and Eve (Tilda Swinton) live in separate worlds where the former lives in Detroit as a reclusive musician and the latter living in Tangier surrounded by books. Adam’s growing dissatisfaction with humanity has him wanting to end his life which Eve senses as she arrives to Detroit to cheer him up only for their renewed romance to be interrupted by Eve’s wild sister Ava (Mia Wasikowska) whom Adam dislikes. It’s a film that explores not just the fallacy of eternity but also in how two vampires who have live their live through influencing humanity only to realize that they have done so little which makes Adam despondent about his role in life.
Jim Jarmusch’s screenplay does use a traditional structure where the first act is set in both Detroit and Tangier to showcase the sense of longing that Adam and Eve have toward one another. Especially as they both have different human contacts where the only person Adam lets into his house is a rock n’ roll kid named Ian (Anton Yelchin) and gets his blood from a mysterious doctor known as Dr. Watson (Jeffrey Wright) whom he pays off. For Eve, she is surrounded by mystical wonders in Tangier as her contact is the famed writer Christopher Marlowe (John Hurt) who is revealed to be a vampire that has faked his death and lives under a different name. The second act is set in Detroit where Adam and Eve reunite as they cope with Adam’s longing to die as well as the beauty that is Detroit with all of its ruined homes and places that once made the city so great.
Ava’s arrival would only create trouble in the film’s second act as it plays to not just Adam’s growing dissatisfaction with humanity but also in the realization that humanity will get worse. The script would play into how Adam and Eve react to humanity where they would see some of its good but also a lot of bad as the latter becomes more evident as their thirst for clean blood becomes more scarce as time goes by. Even as the third act is set in Tangier where the idea of eternal life becomes less evident forcing Adam and Eve to contemplate their own mortality in a world that is rapidly changing.
Jarmusch’s direction is very unique in not just the environments where he sets the film but also in its approach to style. Notably as it involves scenes where the camera is shooting from above as it spins around to play into the sense of mysticism that vampires feel towards one another. Jarmusch’s direction is quite entrancing as the film is shot entirely at night where it plays into this world where vampires are coping with an ever-changing world as Eve surrounds herself with books while Adam is often surrounded by antique musical instruments and other things to connect with what was great about humanity. While a lot of Jarmusch’s compositions are very simple, he manages to do so much in the images he creates while making Tangier and Detroit characters in the film.
Jarmusch also maintains a sense of detachment in his direction where there aren’t a lot of close-ups in favor to showcase Adam and Eve’s observation with the human race in these different places. Especially in the differences between a place like Tangier with all of its beauty and mystique in comparison to the ruins and thrill that is Detroit. Jarmusch’s usage of zoom lenses and keeping things simple add to the sense of detachment and observation that looms over Adam and Eve while the scenes involving Ava are shown with a sense of danger as she is a character who is out of control and unpredictable like humanity itself. Once the film returns to Tangier, it becomes much more melancholic in the sense of uncertainty into whether Adam and Eve should continue or just fade away like the things they held on to for so many centuries. Overall, Jarmusch creates a very eerie yet evocative film about vampire lovers dealing with the fallacy of eternity.
Cinematographer Yorick Le Saux does amazing work with the film‘s cinematography from its use of dreamy lighting schemes for many of the film‘s exterior settings along with more low-key lights and shades for some of the interior scenes. Editor Affonso Goncalves does brilliant work in the editing with its stylish usage of dissolves and jump-cuts to play into the mystique and the dream-like world of Adam and Eve. Production designer Marco Bittner Rosser, with art director Anja Fromm and set decorators Christiane Krumwiede and Malte Nitsche, does fantastic work with the different homes of Adam and Eve where the latter is filled with antique instruments and vinyl while the latter is filled with lots of books. Costume designer Bina Daigeler does excellent work with the costumes from the white clothes of Eve to the dark clothes of Adam as well as the more stylish clothes that Ava wears.
Special effects makeup artist Joanna Koch and hair designer Gerd Zeiss do superb work with the look of the characters from the hair that Eve and Ava wear as well as the vampire fangs whenever they‘re thirsty for blood. Visual effects supervisor Malte Sarnes does nice work with the minimal visual effects that only involve the speediness of the vampires. Sound designer Robert Hein does terrific work with the sound from the way some of the locations sounds to the mixing in how records are played as well as the entrancing textures that looms into Adam and Eve in their surroundings. The film’s music by Jozef van Wissem is great as it features this very ominous use of the lute instrument to play into the world of Tangier while the score also features cuts from Jarmusch’s band SQURL that features vocals from Zola Jesus and Yasmine Hamdan that is mostly dense and drone-based music. The music soundtrack also features an array of music from Wanda Jackson, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, White Hills, Bill Laswell, Charlie Feathers, and other music ranging from soul to Middle Eastern music.
The casting by Ellen Lewis is incredible as it features appearances from Yasmine Hamdan and the band White Hills plus a terrific small role from Slimane Dazi as Marlowe’s human assistant Bilal. Jeffrey Wright is excellent as Dr. Watson as the medical doctor who is Adam’s blood supplier who never asks questions while Anton Yelchin is fantastic as Adam’s rock n’ roll friend Ian who often does duties for Adam and his only real contact with the outside world that Adam grows to despise. John Hurt is brilliant as the writer Christopher Marlowe who is Eve’s supplier/mentor as he is an observer that had seen everything while dealing with the ever-changing world. Mia Wasikowska is amazing as Eve’s sister Ava who arrives unexpectedly as she likes to cause trouble and often drinks Adam and Eve’s blood supply to quench her thirst.
Finally, there’s Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton in magnificent performances in their respective roles as Adam and Eve. Hiddleston brings in this very reserved approach in his performance to display his discontent with humanity and the modern world while thinking his time might be up. Swinton has a more entrancing quality to her role as someone who lives in the moment as she is often amazed by her surroundings while being aware of how scarce good blood is becoming. Hiddleston and Swinton have this electrifying chemistry that play into their own observation with the world as well as with death as they bring in some humor and a heavy sense of drama to their performances.
Only Lovers Left Alive is a remarkable film from Jim Jarmusch that features great performances from Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton. The film is definitely an unconventional take on the vampire lore while injecting back some bite to the genre that is needed following a period of vampire stories that lack bite. Even as it plays to their own encounter with a modern world that becomes less interesting in its exploration of eternity. In the end, Only Lovers Left Alive is a ravishing yet tremendously rich film from Jim Jarmusch.
Jim Jarmusch Films: Permanent Vacation - Stranger than Paradise - Down by Law - Mystery Train - Night on Earth - Dead Man - Year of the Horse - Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai - Coffee & Cigarettes - Broken Flowers - The Limits of Control - Paterson - Gimme Danger - (The Dead Don't Die) - The Auteurs #27: Jim Jarmusch
© thevoid99 2014
Directed by Xan Cassavetes, Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession is the story about the seminal cable channel that showed eclectic movies ranging from art films, mainstreams films, silent films, and B-movies as it was programmed by the obsessive film buff Jerry Harvey. The documentary is an exploration into the cable channel that founded in 1974 that was present solely in Los Angeles and nearby towns as it would end in 1989 just one year after Harvey killed himself and his second wife Deri Rudolph in a murder-suicide. It was a channel that broke a lot of ground and exposed people who loved films the chance to see films uncut, uncensored, and letterboxed whenever possible. The result is a very fascinating and engrossing documentary from Xan Cassavetes.
Before HBO, Showtime, Starz, Turner Classic Movies, and other cable channels that showed films without commercial interruption, there was a groundbreaking channel based solely in areas around Los Angeles which showcased films uncut, uncensored, and without commercials. In the late 1970s, a man named Jerry Harvey became its programmer as he would showcase a plethora of films ranging form B-movies, westerns, silent films, European art-house cinema, Italian softcore porn films, commercial fare, and all sorts of things. With the help of a few other programmers in Andrea Grossman and Tim Ryerson as well as a local critic in F.X. Feeney who would write reviews for the channel magazine, Harvey would create a programming that was beyond the idea of what can be shown.
What director Xan Cassavetes does is showcase not just the channel’s impact and contribution to the world of cinema but also how it can give films that were either lost or re-cut by studio politics the chance to be seen in a new light. Especially as it relates to films like Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate, Luchino Visconti’s The Leopard, Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1900, and Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America which were shown in their director’s cut version to great acclaim after being re-cut and botched by studios. All of which through the desire of Jerry Harvey who wanted to show these films to an audience and give them a fairer judgment. Harvey would also expose obscure directors like Stuart Cooper through Z Channel as it became a platform to showcase films that most channels would never show.
The narrative would move back-and-forth not just in Z Channel’s impact but also Harvey’s personal life that was often turbulent from the suicides of his sisters as well as his relationships with women including his first wife Vera Anderson which ended in divorce in 1984 as he would marry his landlord Deri Rudolph some time later. Feeney and friends of Harvey would talk about his eccentric behavior as well as his obsession towards cinema and showing all sorts of films as he was a workaholic. While emerging channels like HBO and Showtime would do very well nationally, they would have a hard time competing with Z Channel in Los Angeles as subscribers would stick to the channel instead of what HBO and Showtime were offering at the time. Yet, HBO and Showtime would eventually do whatever to buy whatever rights to what they can show as it would lead to the channel’s demise in the late 80s as well as all sorts of business things and some setbacks that would eventually contribute to Harvey’s death and the death of the channel.
Among the filmmakers such as Cooper who are interviewed for the documentary are Henry Jaglom, Alan Rudolph, Robert Altman, Paul Verhoeven, Penelope Spheeris, Jim Jarmusch, Quentin Tarantino, and Alexander Payne who would wear his old Z Channel shirt for the doc. Altman, Verhoeven, Rudolph, Spheeris, and Jaglom talk about Harvey’s contributions into raising their profile while Jarmusch, Payne, and Tarantino were among the filmmakers who were avid watchers of the channel as they talked about the films they saw. Actors like James Woods, Jacqueline Bisset, and Theresa Russell also take part in the interview as they reveal what the channel did for them while cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond praises Harvey for showing the reconstructed version of Heaven’s Gate following the critical scorn the film had received.
With the help of cinematographer John Pirozzi, editor Iain Kennedy, and sound editor Frank Gaeta, Cassavetes would show various film clips of the kind of films that were shown by the channel as well as use super-8 footage of Los Angeles to display a moment in time when the channel was in its prime with an audio recording of the words of Jerry Harvey. The film’s music by Steven Hufsteter is only presented minimally in the opening and closing credits as it is this soft, electronic-based score to play into the impact of the channel.
Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession is a phenomenal film from Xan Cassavetes. It’s a documentary that explored not just the channel’s influence as well as the impact that Jerry Harvey did for cinema. It’s also a film that showcased what a channel can be under the control of a film-loving programmer that would exposes all kinds of films that will probably make an impact on someone. In the end, Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession is an incredible film from Xan Cassavetes.
© thevoid99 2014
A filmmaker who is the total definition of being an outsider, Jim Jarmusch is a man who makes the kind of films that he wants to make without the interference or input of Hollywood. A man who is unabashed film buff and isn’t afraid to show those influences, he is a filmmaker that continues to entrance audiences with his unique ideas of storytelling that all explore the world of outsiders and individuals who don’t fit into a certain idea that is common with society. Though he doesn’t make films very often which is one of the drawbacks of being an independent filmmaker. He always put out something that always get people talking no matter what kind of film he makes as he returns in 2013 with an unusual take on the vampire mythology in Only Lovers Left Alive.
Born James R. Jarmusch on January 22, 1953 at Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio in the U.S., Jarmusch grew up in a middle-class suburbia as his mother was a local film critic who introduced her son to all sorts of films ranging from B-movie double features to the American films of the time. Though film was one thing he loved as a kid, it was literature through the encouragement of his grandmother that would shape his upbringing. Coming of age in the 1960s, Jarmusch discovered the underground American films of Robert Downey and Andy Warhol that prompted him to want to leave Ohio as he attended Northwestern University in 1971 for a brief time only to be transferred to Columbia University in New York City.
The rest can be read here on Cinema Axis.
© thevoid99 2013
Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, Mystery Train is a trilogy of stories set in Memphis, Tennessee that involve different visitors arriving into the city where they encounter all sorts of things in the city. One story entitled Far from Yokohama revolves around two Japanese tourists going on a pilgrimage to learn about the American blues. The second entitled A Ghost is about an Italian widow who stays at a hotel overnight. The third and final story called Lost in Space is about the adventures of an Englishman and his two friends. Starring Youki Kudoh, Masatoshi Nagase, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Cinque Lee, Nicoletta Braschi, Elizabeth Bracco, Rick Aviles, Steve Buscemi, and Joe Strummer. Mystery Train is an extraordinary film from Jim Jarmusch.
The film is essentially about different strangers who find themselves in the city of Memphis, Tennessee where they would all later stay at a hotel all in the course of one strange day. The first of which involves a young Japanese couple in Mitsuko (Youki Kudoh) and Jun (Masatoshi Nagase) who arrive to the city on a pilgrimage on the American blues where they arrive to Memphis earlier than they expected where they argue over who was better, Elvis Presley or Carl Perkins. The second story involves an Italian widow named Luisa (Nicoletta Braschi) who reluctantly stays in the city overnight where she shares a hotel room with a woman named Dee Dee (Elizabeth Bracco) who just left her boyfriend. The third story involves an angry Englishman named Johnny (Joe Strummer) who decides to go into a drunken adventure with his friends Will Robinson (Rick Aviles) and Charlie (Steve Buscemi) that gets bad. All of which has these characters staying in different rooms at a hotel run by the clerk (Screamin’ Jay Hawkins) and a bellboy (Cinque Lee).
Jim Jarmusch’s screenplay has these three very different stories all take place in a very simple narrative yet there’s moments where the three stories connect as characters from one story briefly interact with another and so on. Yet, these are all characters who feel sort of entranced but also lost in this strange city of Memphis as it is a character in the film. Mitsuko and Jun are these two young Japanese tourists who want to see Sun Studios and Graceland where Mitsuko is very upbeat but Jun is more reserved about everything as he doesn’t smile. Luisa is this Italian who finds herself having to stay to Memphis where she is conned into buying magazines and such as well as meeting a strange man (Tom Noonan) who claims to have met the ghost of Elvis where the most normal person she meets is Dee Dee who is just upset over her boyfriend getting laid off.
Mitsuko, Jun, and Luisa are these people who are fascinated by their surroundings where they’re just visitors in this strange land that is a bit decayed and sort of wild. Yet, they’re only staying there for one night as they know how chaotic the place is as the only other foreigner that is roaming around Memphis is Johnny who is just lamenting that he just got dumped. Drowning his sorrows in booze and carrying a loaded pistol, it’s obvious that this character is trouble but he’s sort of this charming character who feels bad over what he did as he has no clue on what is to do where he ends up causing more trouble for himself and his friends. All of these characters would stay in different hotel rooms where the clerk and the bellboy would meet these different characters and often make a few comments about what is going on and such where they would also listen to Elvis Presley’s cover of Blue Moon at certain points in the film as it plays on the radio.
Jarmusch’s direction is quite simple for much of the film while he does create some amazing compositions in the way he presents Memphis as well as the hotel the characters stay in. Memphis acts like this strange ghost town of sorts where some of places are abandoned or decaying while there’s also something vibrant that goes on in the city. It’s a true reflection of Americana that its foreign characters can seem overwhelmed by as Mitsuko and Jun are always staring though neither of them speak much English. There’s a lot of humor in the way these characters react to their surroundings where Mitsuko and Jun have a hard time listening to the Sun Studios tour guide who talks very fast in English. That is among some of the humorous moments as well as the scene of Luisa being conned to buy all of these magazines where it showcases that sense of alienation that can be quite funny.
There are also moments that include the hotel room scenes as there’s always a different painting of Elvis Presley in that hotel room. A lot of which showcases a man who represents everything that is an icon where Mitsuko and Jun are fascinated by how influential he is while Luisa is also transfixed by his presence. Johnny however, isn’t enthused about Elvis as he’s also called by Elvis by some of the locals. His story is definitely one of the darker moments of the film as well as one that is also quite mysterious as Johnny is someone who is connected to a character in another story as it all plays to these characters dealing with the strangeness of the city all in the span of one entire day. Overall, Jarmusch creates a very mesmerizing yet sensational film about people looking for something in the city of Memphis.
Cinematographer Robby Muller does amazing work with the film‘s very colorful and exotic photography from the look of Memphis in the daytime with the use of lights and such to play into the scenes set at night. Editor Melody London does excellent work with the editing by going for a straightforward approach while using some rhythmic cuts for some of the film‘s humorous moments. Production designer Dan Bishop and set decorator Dianna Freas do wonderful work with the look of the hotel rooms the characters stay in that features a different painting of Elvis Presley in each room.
Costume designer Carol Wood does terrific work with the clothes from the youthful look of Mitsuko and Jun to the more old-fashioned look of Luisa. Sound editor Robert Hein does superb work with the sound to convey the atmosphere of the locations as well as moments to link the other stories as a whole piece such as the music and a gunshot that is heard in the morning. The film’s music by John Lurie is fantastic for its low-key yet blues-based score to play into the world of Memphis while its soundtrack features an array of music from soul and rockabilly that includes music by Elvis Presley to play into the mysticism that is Memphis.
The film’s incredible cast includes some notable small roles from people like Sara Driver as an airport clerk, Sy Richardson as a magazine clerk, famed Memphis musician Rufus Thomas as a man who greets the Mitsuko and Jun at the Memphis train station, Rockets Redglare as a liquor store clerk, Tom Noonan as a mysterious man Luisa meets at a diner, and Tom Waits as the voice of a local radio DJ who plays the music that appears in the film. Cinque Lee is very funny as the young bellboy while the late yet legendary Screamin’ Jay Hawkins is superb as the hotel night clerk who dazzles in his red suit. Youki Kudoh and Masatoshi Nagase are fantastic as the young Japanese couple Mitsuko and Jun with Kudoh as the more upbeat and quirky Mitsuko while Nagase displays a low-key melancholia to his rule as Jun.
Nicoletta Braschi is amazing as Italian widow Luisa who is bewildered by her surroundings as she has no idea what is going on while being fascinated by the presence of Elvis Presley. Elizabeth Bracco is excellent as Dee Dee as this woman who just left her boyfriend as she is a very talkative person who is just upset over her day. Rick Aviles is terrific as Johnny’s friend Will Robinson who is frustrated over Johnny’s antics as well as the fact that he is named after a character in the TV show Lost in Space. Steve Buscemi is brilliant as Johnny’s friend Charlie who reluctantly helps Will out to sort out Johnny while trying to deal with the chaos of the night. Finally, there’s the late Joe Strummer in a marvelous performance as Johnny as this troubled Englishman who is upset over losing his job and his girl as he just wants to lash out at whatever is around him as he’s just got this presence that is unforgettable.
Mystery Train is a magnificent film from Jim Jarmusch. Armed with a remarkable ensemble cast as well as an intoxicating sense of mysticism. The film is an entrancing look into the world of alienation as well as a look into a world that is changing but also in decay where many of its traditions try to stay on. Notably in a city that is vibrant as Memphis, Tennessee that is full of culture and mystery that is still exciting to watch. In the end, Mystery Train is a phenomenal film from Jim Jarmusch.
Jim Jarmusch Films: Permanent Vacation - Stranger Than Paradise - Down by Law - Night on Earth - Dead Man - Year of the Horse - Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai - Coffee & Cigarettes - Broken Flowers - The Limits of Control - Only Lovers Left Alive - Paterson - Gimme Danger - (The Dead Don't Die) - The Auteurs #27: Jim Jarmusch
© thevoid99 2013
Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, Down by Law is the story of three men who are incarcerated at a Louisiana prison as they decide to work together to make an escape. The film is an exploration into the lives of three different men who are accused of different crimes where they rely on each other to deal with their situation. Starring Roberto Benigni, Tom Waits, and John Lurie. Down by Law is a captivating yet visually-entrancing film from Jim Jarmusch.
The film is the simple story of three different men who find themselves in trouble in different circumstances as they’re sent to a prison in Louisiana where they later escape as they try to evade the authorities through its swamp. Yet, these are three men who don’t know each other as they have to work together despite their differences. Two of which in an unemployed radio DJ named Zack (Tom Waits) and a small-time pimp named Jack (John Lurie) are both sent to prison for something they didn’t do as they were set up. Joining them is this Italian immigrant named Bob (Roberto Benigni) who is arrested for manslaughter as he would be the one to lead the escape despite his poor English.
Jim Jarmusch’s screenplay has a unique structure in the way he sets up the story as the first act is about Jack and Zack dealing with their issues in New Orleans where they’re both set up as Zack has a brief encounter with Bob. The second act is about the three men sharing a prison cell in Louisiana as Zack and Jack don’t really like each other as Bob is the wild card who did kill someone but only by accident. The third act is about the three men escaping prison yet they have to encounter something far more terrifying which is the Louisiana swamp where they have no idea where to go and such.
Jarmusch’s direction is very evocative in the way he presents the film as he makes the Louisiana bayou, its small towns, and the city of New Orleans just as important as the characters in the film. Most notably as he aims for something that feels like a mixture of Americana with a European sensibility in the compositions he creates that are simple but also offbeat. Particularly as he maintains an intimacy in the scenes set in the prison cell where it’s a bit claustrophobic but also lively such as a moment where the three men scream “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream” that led the other inmate to do the same. It all plays to that sense that something is going to happen where it would play into their escape from prison.
Much of the scenes set in New Orleans and the Louisiana swamp are much broader in scope with Jarmusch using a lot of medium and some wide shots to create some unique images for the former in the film’s first act. The film’s third act in the swamp are definitely the most entrancing portions of the film where the sense of location adds to an element of suspense in Jarmusch’s direction where the swamp turns out to be something far more menacing because it has that sense of the unknown. Yet, there is some humor that is still prevalent in the form of Bob where he would be the one to find some hope as well as a fitting resolution. Overall, Jarmusch crafts a very engaging and compelling film about three different men who are bounded together by prison as they make a grand escape.
Cinematographer Robby Muller does phenomenal work with the film‘s black-and-white photography to play into the desolate yet vibrant look of New Orleans along with the more ethereal images that he creates with his camera for the scenes set in the swamp as he is one of the film‘s major highlights. Editor Melody London does excellent work with the film‘s editing by aiming for some style with its jump-cuts and transitional cuts to play into the film‘s unique structure as well as its suspense and humor. Set decorator Janet Densmore does fantastic work with some of the film’s minimal set pieces such as the prison cell the three men stay in as well as the shack they find in the middle of the swamp.
Costume designer Carol Wood does nice work with the costumes as it‘s mostly casual including the prison suit’s the three men have to wear. Sound editor John Auerbach does terrific work with the sound to play into the atmosphere of the prison as well as the low-key sounds for the scenes in the swamp. The film’s music by John Lurie is amazing for its low-key yet playful jazz-based score to play into the film’s humor while the film also includes a couple of original songs by Tom Waits that helps with the film’s humor as well as a rendition of Naomi Neville’s It’s Raining by Irma Thomas that adds a key moment to one of the film’s final scenes.
The film’s brilliant cast includes some notable appearances from Billie Neal as one of Jack’s frustrated hookers, Ellen Barkin as Zack’s frustrated and angry girlfriend, and Nicoletta Braschi as an Italian woman that Bob meets late in the film. Robert Benigni is great as the very comical Bob as an Italian immigrant who speaks little English as he tries to find ways to get the spirits going and urge Jack and Zack to escape. John Lurie is superb as Jack as this small-time pimp who is upset over what happened as he tries to figure out what he’ll do once he gets out. Tom Waits is marvelous as Zack as an unemployed radio DJ who tries to figure out how to deal with his time while realizing how troubled the swamp is. Benigni, Lurie, and Waits make one incredible trio in the way they interact together as they are one of the reason for the film’s greatness.
Down by Law is a remarkable film from Jim Jarmusch. Thanks to the fantastic trio of Roberto Benigni, John Lurie, and Tom Waits as well as Robby Muller’s beautiful cinematography. The film is definitely a unique take on the prison escape movie where it focuses on the individuals instead of the plot to escape and such. Even as Jarmusch infuses it with some low-key humor and offbeat situations to make it so much more as it defies convention. In the end, Down by Law is a sensational film from Jim Jarmusch.
Jim Jarmusch Films: Permanent Vacation - Stranger than Paradise - Mystery Train - Night on Earth - Dead Man - Year of the Horse - Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai - Coffee & Cigarettes - Broken Flowers - The Limits of Control - Only Lovers Left Alive - Paterson - Gimme Danger - (The Dead Don't Die) - The Auteurs #27: Jim Jarmusch
© thevoid99 2013
Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, Stranger than Paradise is a road-movie of sorts about where a man’s Hungarian cousin arrives to New York City to stay for 10 days before going to Cleveland as he and a friend later visit her where they go to Florida. The film is an exploration into the lives of three people who feel out of place in their environments as they try to find themselves in different places in the U.S. Starring John Lurie, Richard Edson, and Eszter Balint. Stranger Than Paradise is a witty yet entrancing film from Jim Jarmusch.
The film is a simple story about a young Hungarian woman who arrives to the U.S. to stay with her cousin for 10 days in New York City before she moves to Cleveland. A year later, her cousin and a friend of his visit her in Cleveland where they later take a road trip to Florida. That is essentially the premise of the film as writer-director Jim Jarmusch doesn’t really divulge a lot of plot schematics or scenarios to drive the story except separate into three parts. The first part is in New York City where Eva (Eszter Balint) arrives from Budapest as she crashes at the apartment of her cousin Willie (John Lurie) who isn’t keen in having her stay for 10 days while their aunt (Cecilla Stark) is in the hospital. Yet, she manages to charm him and his friend Eddie (Richard Edson) before finally leaving to Cleveland.
The film’s second act takes place a year later where Willie and Eddie cheat at a card game as they take their winnings and decide to go to Cleveland to meet Eva and Aunt Lotte as the trio hang out and such. Notably as the story showcases how out of place Willie and Eddie are in Cleveland as they deal with the cold which is similar to how Eva felt out of place in New York City. The three then decide to go to Florida for the film’s third act just to see what it would be like and hope they can score more money but the sense of alienation and such just add to a sense of uncertainty for the three as they’re stuck in a place in Florida that feels like it’s in the middle of nowhere.
Jarmusch’s direction is quite simple in the way he presents the film as if the characters are sort of alien to their surroundings. Jarmusch’s approach to compositions and framing adds this very intriguing quality to the film such as the way Eva wanders around through the streets of New York. There is some intimacy in the shots he creates as well as a sense of style of how he shoots scenes in a car as well as the use of wide shots for the surroundings in New York City, Cleveland, and Florida. All of which has this enchanting quality to the images where it feels very foreign rather than something looks typically American. Even in the framing devices and such where Jarmusch does allow some humor to be played out though it’s mostly dramatic and low-key. Overall, Jarmusch crafts a very intoxicating yet compelling story about alienation in America.
Cinematographer Tom DiCillo does fantastic work with the film‘s sort of grainy black-and-white photography to create a look that is very low-key yet also stylish in the way the locations look as well as some of the interiors with it use of low-key lights. Editors Jim Jarmusch and Melody London do excellent work with the film‘s editing where it emphasizes a lot on style from the use of cuts-to-black to give the film a sort of episodic structure as well as some rhythmic cuts for the humor. The sound work of Greg Curry and Drew Kunin is terrific for the way it captures the atmosphere of the locations in order to maintain something real and to the point. The film’s music by John Lurie is wonderful for its low-key yet somber string quartet pieces that he created that is performed by the Paradise Quartet while its soundtrack also includes an amazing use of Screamin‘ Jay Hawkins‘ I Put a Spell on You.
The film’s cast includes some noteworthy appearances from street artist Rammellzee as a man Eva meets in Florida, Sara Driver as a woman in a hat in Florida, Danny Rosen as friend of Eva’s in Cleveland, cinematographer Tom DiCillo as an airline agent, and Cecillia Stark as Eva and Willie’s aunt Lotte who often speaks Hungarian as she’s very old school. Richard Edson is great as Eddie as this guy who hangs around as he is very friendly to everyone while being a foil for Willie. Eszter Balint is amazing as Eva as this young Hungarian woman who loves Screamin’ Jay Hawkins as she is baffled by her surroundings while proving to be quite cool as she is very good at shoplifting. John Lurie is fantastic as Willie as this guy who is very good at cards and has this idea of winning in gambling while dealing with his surroundings as he isn’t sure about how much he cares for Eva.
The 2007 Region 1 2-disc DVD from the Criterion Collection presents the film in a 1:78:1 theatrical aspect ratio for 16x9 widescreen as well as Dolby Digital Mono. The first disc is solely devoted to the film in its remastered presentation under the supervision of writer-director Jim Jarmusch. The second disc includes Jarmusch’s 1980 75-minute film Permanent Vacation which showcases Jarmusch’s brilliance as a filmmaker as well as his willingness to be completely independent.
The 45-minute 1984 German TV program Kino ‘84: Jim Jarmusch is essentially a profile into the works of Jim Jarmusch based on his first two films that include interviews with Jarmusch, cinematographer Tom DiCillo, producer Sara Driver, and actors John Lurie, Chris Parker, Richard Edson, and Eszter Balint. Much of it talks about Permanent Vacation and Stranger Than Paradise where Jarmusch and the others talk about the production of the two films as well as Jarmusch’s approach to storytelling. It’s a very insightful piece that explores Jarmusch’s rise early in his career as he was becoming a very important voice for American independent cinema.
The 15-minute behind the scenes documentary Some Days in January 1984 by Jim’s brother Tom is shot in Super 8 film. Though the short doesn’t contain any sounds, it does showcase what was happening during a very cold period in Cleveland where Jarmusch, his cast, and crew were trying to shoot scenes. Some of it is in black-and-white and some of it is in color where the film showcases how Jarmusch creates a film through very limited resources yet finds ways to get things done. The second disc also includes a photo gallery of the location scouting that occurred for the film as well as two different trailers for the U.S. and for Japan.
The DVD also includes a booklet that features essays and notes from Jim Jarmusch about Stranger Than Paradise. Jarmusch’s notes that was written in March of 1984 for the film’s press book showcase Jarmusch’s explanation about the film, it’s style, and why it’s so different where he also reveals that some of the reason the way things look and are acted isn’t just because of limitations but also to find something real. The essay entitled Enter Jarmusch by British film essayist Geoff Andrew who talks about the film and why it was so different from what was happening at the time. Even as it had a lot of European and Japanese film influences that made it so unique as Jarmusch was a bona fide film buff as Andrew also comments on some of the later films that Jarmusch did that may have seemed different from Stranger than Paradise but had that sense of quirky humor and such that made it similar to that film.
The second essay entitled Paradise Regained is from New York film critic J. Hoberman which is a brief insight into the film and its legacy that is really served as an introduction to a review that Hoberman wrote in October of 1984 for the Village Voice called Americana, Right and Wrong. The review talks about the film and its eccentricities as well as why it feels so fresh at a time when Hollywood blockbusters were ruling American cinema as Hoberman was championing the film. Two more essays from author Luc Sante are about Jarmusch’s first film Permanent Vacation as the first one entitled Love Among the Ruins: Permanent Vacation and Jarmusch’s New York that is about Sante’s reflections about the film as well as the moment when it was filmed as Sante was part of that culture.
Sante’s second essay My Lost City, which was written in 2003 and was part of an afterward in Sante’s 2004 book Low Life, is essentially about New York City in the 1970s and how a city that was once revered was suddenly regressing by crime, a bad economy, and social disorder. At the same time, it was sort of wild where a lot can happen where Sante reveals how youth was able to take advantage of this disorder in the city. Even as Sante reflects on a time that he felt was joyous and is considered lost since the city managed to clean itself up and become something different as it’s a wonderful essay to complement two great films from a great filmmaker.
Stranger Than Paradise is a remarkable film from Jim Jarmusch. Armed with its witty humor, a great cast, and some cool music. It is definitely one of the finest and most captivating films of the 1980s as well as a true definition of what independent films were about in those times. Especially as it has an energy and intelligence that captures that sense of alienation as well as play into something where America can seem very foreign at times. In the end, Stranger than Paradise is a sensational film from Jim Jarmusch.
Jim Jarmusch Films: Permanent Vacation - Down by Law - Mystery Train - Night on Earth - Dead Man - Year of the Horse - Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai - Coffee & Cigarettes - Broken Flowers - The Limits of Control - Only Lovers Left Alive - Paterson - Gimme Danger - (The Dead Don't Die) - The Auteurs #27: Jim Jarmusch
© thevoid99 2013
Directed by Jim Jarmusch, Year of the Horse is a documentary film about Neil Young and his band Crazy Horse during their 1996 tour where Jarmusch follows them on the road where they talk about the band’s history and their relationship that includes old footage from past tours. The documentary is a bit of a road-diary as well as an overlook of sorts into the career of the band through good times and bad times as the result is a fascinating yet unconventional film from Jim Jarmusch.
The film is a mixture of a retrospective look into the career of Neil Young and his band Crazy Horse, that consists of bassist Billy Talbot, drummer Ralph Molina, and guitarist/organist Frank “Poncho” Sampedro, as well as a road-diary of the band’s tour in 1996. With director Jim Jarmusch maintaining a low-key presence to capture the band’s performance and their off-stage life along with interviews. The film also includes interview with the band’s manager Elliot Roberts, Neil’s father Scott, and a few roadies as they all express their opinion on the band and how it’s managed to endure despite some bumps that includes the tragic death of original rhythm guitarist Danny Whitten in 1972.
Shot in different film formats ranging from 16mm, Super 8 film, and Hi-8 video as well as some archival footage from the 1970s and 1980s. Jarmusch creates something that is a mixture of things where he also makes some visual collages with the help of editor Jay Rabinowitz to showcase the band’s music to play with some of the images that goes on in the road. Most notably a collage of footage from three different shows from 1976, 1986, and 1996 in three different places that all play a version of Like a Hurricane. It’s among one of the many highlights of the film as there’s also footage of the band just being cool where Young acts like one of the guys instead of a band leader. Yet, there’s also a scene from a 1986 show where Young and Talbot are arguing over an arrangement that didn’t get played.
With the help of co-cinematographers L.A. Johnson, Steve Onuska, and Arthur Rosato, Jarmusch aims for a look that feels very personal but also ragged to play into the music of the band while there’s not many hits that are played in favor of cuts that fans love. With the sound work of John Hausmann, the musical performance sound amazing as well as the mixture of visual collages where Jarmusch wanted to showcase how unique Neil Young is with a band as raw and stripped-down is as Crazy Horse. While the presentation isn’t for everyone where Jarmusch defies convention by not divulging much into the band’s history. He does create something that does feel like a portrait of a band told by someone who is a fan of the music.
Year of the Horse is a superb film from Jim Jarmusch about Neil Young and Crazy Horse. While the film is very unconventional in its portrait of the band by not going into any traditional documentary narratives. It is still a very lively and fun film through the footage and concert performances that Jarmusch presents as well as into the lives of Young and his band. In the end, Year of the Horse is an excellent film from Jim Jarmusch.
Jim Jarmusch Films: Permanent Vacation - Stranger Than Paradise - Down by Law - Mystery Train - Night on Earth - Dead Man - Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai - Coffee & Cigarettes - Broken Flowers - The Limits of Control - Only Lovers Left Alive - Paterson - Gimme Danger - (The Dead Don't Die) - The Auteurs #27: Jim Jarmusch
© thevoid99 2013
Written, edited, and directed by Jim Jarmusch, Permanent Vacation is the story about a man wandering around New York City meeting many people in the course of his journey talking about everything from life and such. The film marks Jim Jarmusch’s debut as it explores life in late 1970s New York City all told by a young man. Starring Chris Parker, Sara Driver, and Frankie Faison. Permanent Vacation is an extraordinary debut film from Jim Jarmusch.
The film is the simple story about the day in the life of a young New Yorker wandering around the city where he talks to various people in the course of the day. There, he meets people where he just talks about everything from life to jazz music as he does a few things every now and then and ponder his existence in late 1970s New York City where it’s a world that is changing. Jim Jarmusch’s script doesn’t have much of a plot as it keeps the premise very simple as it’s largely told by its protagonist Allie (Chris Parker) who meets different kinds of people while musing about the changes that is happening in the city. Among the people he meets are an assortment of characters ranging from a shell-shocked soldier (Richard Boes), a man at a cinema lobby (Frankie Faison), and a saxophonist (John Lurie).
Jarmusch’s direction is pretty simple but also loose and freewheeling in the way he presents late 1970s New York City where it looks like a place in ruins but still lively and wild. The city is a character in the film where it is this place where Allie wanders around in the ruins meeting many characters as he keeps the presentation simple and to the point. Even as Jarmusch infuses some style in the compositions to present Allie’s loneliness in his surroundings where he is able to get an amazing performance out of Chris Parker along with the rest of the cast that includes his longtime partner Sara Driver as a nurse as well as Frankie Faison, John Lurie, and Richard Boes. Jarmusch’s approach to the editing is also simple while he does infuse some style in the presentation that plays into Allie’s own curiosity in his surroundings as well as his alienation. Overall, Jarmusch crafts a very engaging yet stylish portrait of a young man finding himself in late 1970s NYC.
Cinematographers Tom DiCillo and James A Lebovitz do brilliant work with the colorful yet grainy 16mm look of the film to maintain that air of grittiness in many of the locations in NYC as well as in the use of lights for some of the nighttime interior scenes. The sound work of Kevin Dowd is excellent for its naturalistic approach to sound in capturing the atmosphere of the locations that Allie encounters. The film’s music by Jim Jarmusch and John Lurie is fantastic as it’s a mixture of Lurie’s jazz music with the more avant-garde approach of Jarmusch with its percussions and xylophones.
Permanent Vacation is an excellent film from Jim Jarmusch. While it’s lack of plot or conventional storylines wouldn’t be for everyone as it does get a bit boring. It is still a compelling film that explores the life of a young man living in late 1970s New York City in a world that is ever changing. In the end, Permanent Vacation is a superb film from Jim Jarmusch.
Jim Jarmusch Films: Stranger Than Paradise - Down by Law - Mystery Train - Night on Earth - Dead Man - Year of the Horse - Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai - Coffee and Cigarettes - Broken Flowers - The Limits of Control - Only Lovers Left Alive - Paterson - Gimme Danger - (The Dead Don't Die) - The Auteurs #27: Jim Jarmusch
© thevoid99 2013
