An indie ambush from Jarmusch
Thursday, January 5, 2017
Arguably, the new wave of American independent filmmaking that began in the 1980s kicks off with Jim Jarmusch's "Stranger Than Paradise," a quirky and idiosyncratic study in negative space that shook up the cinema world. Here's what we learned about this decidedly different movie after watching it last evening:
HOW IS THIS MOVIE DIFFERENT, DISTINCTIVE AND UNEXPECTED FROM YOUR EXPECTATIONS?
• There is no real plot or intricate narrative structure. Not much happens of consequence, which puts more of an emphasis on the characters, dialogue, and look/visuals of the film.
• It plays as a series of interconnected vignettes or episodes, many of which could also stand on their own, although it also functions as a 3-act play with three titled chapters.
• Each episode is an unbroken take without cuts/edits—allowing us to soak in the atmosphere and study the actors in a more cohesive, even spontaneous environment and misc en scene without editing manipulation. In total there are 67 single-shot scenes, demarcated by black film.
• Additionally, the camera mostly remains stationary, failing to move, pan, dolly, track, zoom or otherwise—not relying on fancy camerawork, lenses or visual acrobatics to pull us in.
• It’s shot in gritty black and white on 16mm film, not 35 mm film. 16mm produces more grain and less detail, but provides a rougher esthetic look, which can suit low-budget indie productions and give it more “street cred.”
• The visual esthetic is also gritty. Critic J. Hoberman commented: “Stranger Than Paradise is resplendent with the love of industrial ugliness. Our introduction to Cleveland is a rundown Greyhound terminal by a whitewashed box optimistically called the Nite Life CafĂ©; Eva works at a hot dog–selling eyesore that looks like a miniature airplane hangar half-limned in neon. Even in “paradise,” the film’s unlikely deus ex machina is purchased in the most desolate gift shop imaginable.”
• The humor is more low-key and subtle here, called “bone dry humor” by Criterion Collection essayist Geoff Andrew.
• It has both an American and European cinematic feel to it—it’s a quirky character road movie (American), yet artsy and narratively/visually aloof (European).
• Director Jim Jarmusch described the film as “a neorealistic black comedy in the style of an imaginary East European director obsessed with Ozu and The Honeymooners.”
WHY DO YOU BELIEVE THIS FILM WAS CONSIDERED A LANDMARK MOVIE IN INDEPENDENT CINEMA AND WHY AND HOW DO YOU THINK IT INFLUENCED OTHER MOVIES THAT FOLLOWED?
• Because it broke many rules of conventional Hollywood moviemaking in its choices to use uninterrupted long takes, short vignettes strung together, side tracking shots, and a focus on minor details over major plot points.
• By using the song “I Put A Spell on You,” it, like previous films by Scorsese, Kasdan, Lumet and others, employed a significant popular musical theme to comment on the action.
• Just as pioneer indie filmmakers like John Cassavetes, David Lynch and Bob Rafelson influenced Jarmusch and other young indie directors, Jarmusch has had a major influence on many of his peers, including Tarantino, Soderbergh, and Richard Linklater.
• Writer Vincent Wayne wrote: “(Jarmusch) focuses on the underdogs, the outcasts and the outsiders of society. Jarmusch has a sympathy for this type of character, and nearly all of his characters are outsiders in some way. The film is also full of deadpan humor, and all of Jarmusch’s films are comedies in some sense. Visually, the film is influenced by European arthouse directors like Antonioni and Bresson, and the crisp black and white photography has a low-budget charm to it. It is also influenced by Japanese filmmakers, specifically Ozu in the way that the film is made up of longer, mostly static shots, which fade to black. And lastly, in terms of form, the film is largely plotless, more just a series of events and small moments that create an interesting whole, which could be said of most of his films. The plotlessness does make the film seem aimless at times, but as I said before, something interesting always happens before boredom sets in. And that really nails one of the things that makes Jarmusch movies so cool and enjoyable to watch, without being hollow: he is anti-pretentious. For the most part, his films don’t aspire to be anything more than they are, which is an assortment of interesting moments and characters, all in service of a unified laid-back aesthetic. They’re an opportunity to hang out with a bunch of bohemian musicians and actors for a while, and maybe see some cool visuals, good dialogue, and interesting music on the way. Simple pleasures.”
WHAT THEMES ARE EXAMINED IN “STRANGER THAN PARADISE”?
• As familiar as our environment and culture may seem, it can actually be quite foreign and mundane to us if you take a closer look.
• Existential angst can stem from the most seemingly benign factors: boredom, ennui, repetition, and disillusionment, which are all experiences and emotions that each of us have felt and can relate to. "Jarmusch is more concerned with people who are in the thick of the mundane details that make up most people's existences (as well as the odd details that could only come from New York). In his Paradise, it's the lack of anything to do that causes all of these details to push against his players, that dislodges them from their comfortable seat. The lack of any great catalyst provides the frustration. It's the drama of inner turmoil, lacking in violence or histrionics," suggested reviewer Jamie S. Rich.
• The myth of the American dream and our inability to realize it.
• Negative space and anti-matter. Just as Seinfeld was a “show about nothing” that turned out to be infinitely interesting, “Stranger Than Paradise,” by “being an exploration of nothing…it’s also about everything,” wrote film scholar Jason Fraley. Jarmusch was quoted as saying “the beauty of life is in small details, not in big events.”
OTHER FILMS THAT REMIND YOU OF STRANGER THAN PARADISE
• Midnight Cowboy
• Eraserhead
• She’s Gotta Have It
• Slacker
• Clerks