Review of Night on Earth (1991) by Karmen G — 26 Mar 2009
Although films that are done in an episodic format are hard to compare against films that are one consistent story, I feel nonetheless that Night on Earth ranks among Jim Jarmusch's best films. Jarmusch's characterization stylings are phenomenal and this episodic format allows for him to create more characters, which is a great thing that works out quite nicely here and in Mystery Train as well (but wouldn't be repeated to quite as good an extent a decade later in Coffee and Cigarettes).
The strongest segments are New York (with Giancarlo Esposity Armin Mueller-Stahl, who is absolutely adorable, and Rosie Perez), Rome (with Roberto Benigni, in top hypersonic speed improvisational form) and Finland (with.
.. some guys who speak Finnish, I guess. Not sure who they were, but they were very convincing). Ending the movie with the sun coming up on a heartbroken man in Helsinki was wondrously effective; especially mixed with great Tom Waits music.
Like most Jarmusch films, what makes this one great is hard to put into precise words, but it is undeniably great nonetheless.
This review of Night on Earth (1991) was written by Karmen G on 26 Mar 2009.
Night on Earth has generally received very positive reviews.
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