Review of Night on Earth (1991) by Gregg P — 17 Sep 2009
My favorite film from the offbeat director Jim Jarmusch is a seemingly simple collection of stories involving cab drivers and their passengers in five different cities.
In Paris we have an immigrant cab driver Isaach De Bankolé who picks up a blind woman.
In Rome we have the frequently polarizing Roberto Benigni as the cabbie who picks up a priest.
In New York we have Armin Mueller-Stahl a German emigree who is in awe of the city and not really prepared to drive in it, who picks up Giancarlo Esposito and Rosie Perez.
In Helsinki the driver picks up some drunks who tell the story of their friend's terrible day to which the cab driver responds with a tale of his own.
In Los Angeles we have Winona Ryder as the cabbie who picks up a powerful Hollywood Agent in the person of Gena Rowlands.
There isn't a lot of action here, the film is very much about conversation and telling stories and it may be very surprising how well this works as entertainment to many viewers.
There are also some compelling performances here and some interesting discussion of various ideas and points of view.
This review of Night on Earth (1991) was written by Gregg P on 17 Sep 2009.
Night on Earth has generally received very positive reviews.
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