Five cities. Five taxicabs. A multitude of strangers in the night. Jim Jarmusch assembled an extraordinary international cast of actors (including Gena Rowlands, Winona Ryder, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Beatrice Dalle, and Roberto Benigni) for this hilarious quintet of tales of urban displacement and existential angst, spanning time zones, continents, and languages. Jarmusch’s lovingly askew view of humanity from the passenger seat makes for one of his most charming and beloved films. —The Criterion Collection
With his trademark shock of white hair and ultra-cool rock star persona, Jim Jarmusch is the archetypal auteur of American independent film. Born on January 22, 1953, in Akron, OH, Jarmusch was the son of a former film critic for the Akron Beacon Journal. In University, he went to Paris as an exchange student and spend most of his time at the Parisian Cinemas. Upon his return to New York, Jarmusch transferred to Columbia University, where, though he eventually received a degree in English literature. With no film experience, he was accepted into New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and soon found himself a teaching assistant to legendary maverick filmmaker Nicholas Ray. Ray helped him get funding for his thesis project, Permanent Vacation (1980). Though the film was later released to critical acclaim, his professors were underwhelmed by his final project and Jarmusch never got a degree from N.Y.U.
Jarmusch’s break came with his next film; the 30-minute short eventually… read more
Series of 5 different stories on 5 different taxis in various cities, all in the same night, each one of them with its 'adventures'. Hilarious.
Going from Benigni's "chaplinesque" humour to a Camus-like inspired scenario in Heliskin's typical shadowy and suicidial mise-en-scène, Jarmusch explores so much in so little time (and he does it flawlessly), that it's mindblowing. It's brilliant and touching. Bukowski said that it's always 3am. Well, it should. It should always be night on earth, and we should all be living a bohemian life (yeah, I noticed that too)
Unlike the others, I really like this Jarmusch film. It remains me Scorsese's "Bringing Out the Dead."
One of the BEST vignette films ever created. A very heartwarming yet comedically entertaining take on late night taxi cab confessions and strange situations. It gives an absolutely beautiful look into the way that cities can be made up of so many different types of people, and really lets us look at some things that we as humans take for granted. It really teaches you, which is what a good film SHOULD do.
I have an affinity for anthologies of shorts, although I can’t really say why, because the weaker stories always tend to outnumber the few that shine. It frequently results in a disjointed experience… read review