Stranger Than Paradise

1984
Cinesthesia Productions
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Length: 89 min.
Country: USA
Format: DVD
Date Viewed: 20 March, 2006

Stranger Than Paradise is one of the best debut films I've seen (I, as Cannes before me, count Permanent Vacation as a student film). Consisting entirely of single long-take shots bookended by three seconds of black frame, the film is a genius exercise in inaction. Precious little happens and little is said by any of the three leads, and yet, the film is never dull. The minimalist performances of the leads are well done while non-actor Cecillia Stark (Aunt Lotte) steals the show whenever she appears. Some may be put off by the black-and white photography and slow pace, but it only adds to the film's marvelous realism. Jarmusch would top himself with Down By Law two years later, but this remains one of the jewels in the director's crown. Highly recommended.