Stranger than Paradise: The Criterion Collection (DVD)

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A handful of movies have changed the way I understand film. "Taxi Driver" made me realize a movie could do something more than just entertain. "Last Year at Marienbad" changed my entire conception of what a movie could be, and just how plastic the medium of cinema really is. "2001: A Space Odyssey" simply blew my mind, and hooked me forever on the thrill of transcendence in film.

Each of these films delivered haymakers that knocked me flat on my ass so hard and fast I have never forgotten my first encounter with them. "Stranger than Paradise" delivered a gentler blow, but one every bit as memorable. When I first saw Jim Jarmusch´s breakthrough hit many years after its original release, my first thought was "So that´s all?" I was not expressing disappointment. Rather, I was amazed that such a Great Film (caps intentional) could be made from so little raw material. Three characters, a handful of no-budget locations, and only the most tenuous of narrative threads, so slack it could hardly be considered the force that tied the film together. No flashy camera tricks either. The entire film is built on a (deceptively) simple visual rhythm: a series of long unedited takes interrupted by black leader; no post-production editing (save for the black leader inserts) and only minimal camera movement (save for the a few long tracking shots). The characters themselves didn´t do a damned thing except sit around the apartment, watch TV, bitch, and play cards. Pauline Kael dismissively dubbed them "dead end kids."

But "Stranger than Paradise" was hardly a dead-end film. It propelled Jarmusch to instant fame (though never, even to this day, financial success) and furthermore helped popularize what came to be known in the 80s and early 90s as American independent cinema. It was hardly the first indie film (John Cassavetes had already been around for 25 years) but arriving on the heels of the first great wave of Hollywood mega-blockbusters, it proved a rallying point for audiences and critics desperate for something without aliens, Nazis, and big explosions. When Geoff Andrew wrote his book on American independent film in 199, he titled it quite simply, "Stranger than Paradise."

The film is separated into three sections or chapters (you can´t really call them acts). "The New World" begins with the arrival of Eva (Eszter Balint) in New York, fresh from Hungary. She is to spend some time with her Hungarian cousin Willie (the laconic John Lurie) before moving to stay with family in Cleveland. Willie has no interest in his Hungarian heritage and therefore little interest in his Hungarian cousin. That´s OK; she doesn´t have much interest in him either. Willie´s friend Eddie (Richard Edson) plays the third wheel, dropping from time to time like the 80s answer to Art Carney´s Ed Norton just to poke around and see what´s happening. Even though nothing is ever happening. He´s the most gregarious of the three slackers, eager to buoy everyone´s spirits. When Eva mentions she is going to Cleveland, he says, "Cleveland, it´s a beautiful city. It´s got a big, beautiful lake. You´ll love it there." Eva: "Have you been there?" Eddie: "No."

"One Year Later" sees the two boys steeped in hot water over a poker game, prompting them to flee NYV to visit Eva in Cleveland. She is working at a hot dog joint. Life in Cleveland isn´t much different. They hang around at home, watch TV, bitch, and play cards. Except this time Eva and Willie´s very Hungarian Aunt Lottie wins every hand, declaring each time: "I am de vinner." Even the less-than-philosophical Eddie is amazed by the generic similarity of their new home: "You know it´s funny. You come some place new and everything looks just the same."

In "Paradise" the intrepid trio trundles down to Florida (Eddie: "Florida? It´s beautiful down there." Willie: "You ever been there?" Eddie: "No.") to see the white beaches and to bet on horses. Here the ennui that glues these strangers together begins to fall apart, though Jarmusch saves a hell of a punch line for he end when, by sheer luck, Eva discovers the American dream on a deserted beach road. If the film has any message, it´s this: The Puritan work ethic is for yuppies and other suckers.

The performances by the three leads are all wonderful, a testament not only to their ability but to Jarmusch´s fondness for his performers. The long takes, so beautifully orchestrated by Tom DiCillo, give the actors the time and space they need to let their personalities shine through. Lurie and Balint get plenty of much deserved credit, but Richard Edson lights up the screen whenever he is on; his range of bemused expressions is seemingly endless, and one of the film´s most reliable sources of laughs. Even bit characters like Aunt Lottie are pitch perfect in their own small ways.