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 - (Father Mother Sister Brother) - 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 - (Father Mother Sister Brother) - 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 - (Father Mother Sister Brother) - The Auteurs #27: Jim Jarmusch
© thevoid99 2013
