Review of Night on Earth (1991) by Tom A — 20 Feb 2009

Jim Jarmusch is hard to explain. His movies are even harder to explain, so I'm not gonna put much thought into this because some things are better left as enigmas even when you feel like you understand them.

Night on Earth is an anthology of five cabs rides around the world, different cities, same time.

Winona Ryder drives talent agent Gena Rowlands in L.A. and is disappointed but relieved to find out tomboy Ryder isn't interested when she offers her her card after being impressed by her personality's buoyancy amidst Rowland's own experiences with misguided talent.

Armin Mueller-Stahl drives Giancarlo Esposito in NYC where Esposito winds up helping bad driver Stahl with his poor driving and reverse wherein Stahl serves as wingman and unintentional peacekeeper when Esposito picks up his girlfriend (Rosie Perez).

In late night Paris Isaach de Bankole' picks up the sexy, and blind, Beatrice Dalle (who is freaking nuts in real life if you ever watch her in interviews) who seems to know more about intimacy and the human condition than most despite her handicap which only intrigues Bankole into asking all the right/wrong questions.

In Rome, Roberto Benigni picks up a priest whom he subsequently confesses to, despite the priests objections, his entire sex life resulting in a fatal coronary in said priest.

And finally in a snow covered Helsinki, Matti Pellonpaa relates to three attentive, apathetic drunks one of the saddest but most profound stories I've ever heard, coming off as one of the best characters I've ever seen in a movie, and it was all done by a guy just never moving, sitting in one place, just pretending to drive a cab. I was impressed.

All the streets in all the cities seem to be deserted and it fittingly ends on a tragically solitary note that made me wanna be a better person, but never at the expense of myself.