"Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to."
-Jim Jarmusch
There's no shortage of creative directors in Hollywood, but indie directors? The term has become so widely applied that it's lost its meaning. While other directors may be hailed for their original point of view, Jarmusch has never made a film on a studio's dime. He has owned and controlled all of his movies completely, writing, directing, and simultaneously changing the way movie-goers in the mainstream view indie films: not as inaccessible art-house dreck, but as an art form that steals from real life while remaining wholly original.
In 1984, Jarmusch debuted his first feature- Stranger Than Paradise- which cost a mere $150,000, grossed $2.5 million in North America, and won the Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. The film follows a trio of oddball characters (as it often does): Willie (John Lurie), Eva (Eszter Balint), and Eddie (Richard Edson) as they participate in a series of adventures, that really aren't all that adventurous. The premise itself is simple, subdued, but the characters are so interesting that it doesn't matter. Jarmusch has done such a good job of crafting them and cultivating the audience's interest as the bonds between them progress. As with (almost) any first feature, however, it is not without its flaws. The first act and a half of the film asks a lot from the viewer, and had I not seen some of Jarmusch's earlier work, my patience might have been tested. Watching it for the second, the third, and the fourth time, however, I can appreciate the little vignettes set in Willie's cramped apartment more than I did the first time. The deadpan of the actors is spot on, Screamin' Jay Hawkins' music is a perfect fit, and Jarmusch's direction is subtle, but not so much that you wouldn't recognize it as his. Maybe his first endeavor is a polarizing one, but once you can get past the pace, you can appreciate the nuance. It may not have a tight plot, but neither does real life, so who cares?
Got Spotify? Listen to this Jim Jarmusch playlist as you read.
Like Stranger than Paradise, Down by Law also focuses on a trio of misfits: Zack, Jack, and Bob. Disc jockey Zack (Tom Waits, in his first major movie role) is arrested for unwittingly driving a stolen car with a dead man in the trunk, Jack, a small-time pimp, (John Lurie) for accidental child molestation, and Bob (Roberto Benigni), a confused Italian tourist, for killing a man in self-defense. Though at first Bob's happy attitude and broken English doesn't jive with the other two melancholy boys- now his cellmates- they get over their differences when he comes up with a plan to escape the jail through the sewers. As a comedy, Down by Law is slow-moving, and more interested in comedy than content. Still, all three of the main characters are captivating and often hilarious onscreen, and overall, it's a one-of-a-kind buddy film that has to be seen to be appreciated, because reading its description just doesn't do it justice.
Review of Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
Though I've already discussed Broken Flowers, albeit briefly, I'll touch on it again to explain how this seemingly mainstream flick fits into the Jarmusch aesthetic. By casting the very popular, universally adored Bill Murray as a more traditional leading man rather than his usual downtown resident, it brings the movie into a more accessible territory. With the nuance Murray brings to the role, combined with the emotional directness (not found in any of Jarmusch's earlier work), the movie seems to have moved into something like maturity. It's grown up. But that doesn't mean the film still loses Jarmusch's signature outsider stance: it is raw, closely observed, and personal.
Only Lovers Left Alive may belong to a genre that's become saturated in recent years, but really, it's like no other vampire film out there. While most vampire stories focus on youth, Only Lovers Left Alive understands that what's relatable about vampires isn't the vitality of youth, but the annoyance of age everyone experiences. Everyone younger than you is more stupid, more crass, and more immature, than you, and you have no idea how or when that happened. Adam (Tom Hiddleston) and Eve (Tilda Swinton) express this exhaustion well. There's no other word to describe them but cool. Like most of Jarmusch's filmography, the pace is slow, the plot thin. There is a brief rise in action when Eve’s sister Ava (Mia Wasikowska) turns up and causes some trouble, but for the most part the story moves along at a leisurely pace. That's not necessarily a bad thing- give the film time and you'll fall in love with the dark, sensuous mood the whole film emits.
What makes a Jarmusch film a Jarmusch film is a difficult thing to pin down: not because it's necessarily elusive, but because the films he makes are easily broken down into readily identifiable components, none of which are special under usual circumstances, and yet the final product is nothing short of dreamlike. If there was one defining characteristic of Jarmusch's style, I would have to call it his casual attention to detail. Start with any one of his films. Pay special attention to the way shots are framed, particularly in reference to their movement, and consider the way that scenes are put next to each other. The mise en scène is messy. The dialogue easygoing. But upon closer inspection, none of things are in any way accidental. God is in the details- and the music.
Jim Jarmusch's Best Moments
This scene from 2004's Coffee and Cigarettes is a perfect example of Jarmusch's writing style. As the title suggests, this movie is about nothing more than people sitting around drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes (and talking about various subjects). There is no plot and the dialogue is so easy that it seems improvised. Though the technical term for this scene would be a vignette, it's really an excerpt of life caught on film.
One of the best things about a Jarmusch movie is that you know going in, even if the story or the actors or the tone isn't to your taste, you'll be in for a good soundtrack at the very least. Only Lovers Left Alive is no exception, and in this scene, after Adam and Eve discuss the ennui accompanying their immortality, Eve puts on Denise LaSalle - Trapped By A Thing Called Love, and begins to dance...
The rooftop scene is a great example of what I mentioned earlier, regarding Jarmusch's eye for detail. At first, the direction is a little reminiscent of a 90's rap video, with the crossfading and vaguely Oriental music, but if you watch closely, Whitaker's actions match up perfectly with the beat of the song. The rest of the clip is a brief look into the seeming contradiction that makes up Ghost Dog. One minute he's practicing with his katana, the next, he's eating ice cream in the park.