Review of Stranger Than Paradise (1984) by Gareth B — 31 Aug 2007
The first of what has become a long line of transidental arthouse films by Jim Jarmusch is about as DIY as one can get without making a mockumentary. Jarmusch's main concept was simply that every shot of this 90 minute selection of stage scenes would be a master shot.
Hence, the majority of the film consists of little more than a random selection of photographic static shots with the occasional pan thrown in for good messure. These rather meagre scenes are punctuated with brief periods of balck screen for the purpose of avoiding the costly incovenience of editing.
This method also attempts to frame the drama as their own isolated narratives and provide respite during the passage of time. Whilst this technique is very European and avant guarde, its appeal is lost to me since scenes are allowed to drag and often scenes are included where the actors do almost nothing at all, so it seems as though one is simply looking at a magazine image.
Jarmusch may wear his Goddard aspirations on his sleave throughout, and it is admirable for a director to be so open about his influences. However, he fails to grasp the importance that came with Goddard's use of continuity scripting so as to provide drive for the narrative.
Even fellow transindental artist Gus Van Sant was able to provide some sense of drive to his fiction when he directed the similarly freeform Last Days. In saying this, Stranger Than Paradise's saving grace comes from its ability to draw attention to the fact that Jarmusch is still a truly unique and talented artist.
Whilst his characters retain the pretensious and often obnoxious swagger of Goddard's work, they are still characters we can engage with on an everyday level rather than in any moral or philosophical way.
Fans of Goddard and other European cinema renaissance vets may find Stranger Than Paradise to be their dream film. The rest of us should simply stick to Jarmusch's more dramatically engaging fair like Coffee and Cigarettes or Deadman.
This review of Stranger Than Paradise (1984) was written by Gareth B on 31 Aug 2007.
Stranger Than Paradise has generally received very positive reviews.
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