Stranger Than Paradise (1984)

Director:

Jim Jarmusch

Writer:

Jim Jarmusch (written by)

Release Date:

9 November 1984 (West Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

This is about a self-styled New York hipster (John Lurie of the Lounge Lizards) who is paid a suprise...

Plot Keywords:

Road | New York City | Florida | Hungarian | Slacker

Awards:

8 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

John Lurie	...	Willie
Eszter Balint	...	Eva
Richard Edson	...	Eddie
Cecillia Stark	...	Aunt Lotte
Danny Rosen	...	Billy
Rammellzee	...	Man With Money
Tom DiCillo	...	Airline Agent
Richard Boes	...	Factory Worker
Rockets Redglare	...	Poker player
Harvey Perr	...	Poker player
Brian J. Burchill	...	Poker player
Sara Driver	...	Girl with Hat
Paul Sloane	...	Motel Owner

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA | West Germany

Language:

English | Hungarian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:S | South Korea:15 | Sweden:Btl | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Company:

Cinesthesia Productions

Trivia:

The film's scenes are each a single shot, followed by a few seconds of black screen.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Shadow of a crew member just before the end of the scene where Eva is throwing away the dress.

Quotes:

Eva: I'm choking the alligator.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Decade Under the Influence (2003)

Soundtrack:

I Put a Spell on You

Still good after all these years

I just finished watching Stranger Than Paradise on DVD - the first time I'd seen it since its year of release. I'd always recalled the film with fondness, although I could never remember why I liked it. Several years after seeing the movie I came across the John Lurie soundtrack and bought it without stopping to listen, and been slightly taken aback by it. The haunting pieces were more emotionally esoteric than I expected, and it took some time for the album to grow on me.

Seeing the movie again, I understand why. The only piece of popular music in the film is Screamin' Jay Hawkin's "I Put a Spell on You" and, although I had forgotten that it was there, I guess that I had expected the soundtrack to be more like those of mainstream movies and have songs and such-like. I think that Lurie's music is perfect in situ and, as I've said, the soundtrack has also grown on me as standalone pieces.

The movie itself is a masterpiece. The black and white images present a starkness and a clarity that heightens the alienation of self in a land that was supposed to be the new hope for immigrants from a decaying old world. Instead we see Eva walking through a deserted ghost world of New York where the graffiti says "Yankee go home". America is only a dream, a collective vision of a better world; paradise somewhere on earth.

As Willie and Eddie journey west after winning some money, we see that the supposedly beautiful city of Cleveland is cold and desolate with a frozen lake. The further trip to Florida ends in the middle of nowhere next to a bleak and windswept ocean. Paradise is still somewhere out of reach. I think that's why the movie appeals to me. It shows that the America of popular mythology - the home of the brave, land of the free, protector of the downtrodden, guardian of democracy in the free world - is merely a construct. Too many people these days believe in the child's fantasy of America being some paradise that Iraq and Afghanistan should emulate. Jarmusch reminds us that it is people who give meaning to a symbol, not the other way around. He allows for the ability of people to make their own meanings and evolve beyond the stagnation of popular culture.

At a time I originally saw this movie I had recently left home and got my first job, moving from the country to the city, and maybe to some extent I identified with Eva - moving from Budapest to America. It was also my first taste of grownup film, if I recall correctly, and confirmed me with a lifelong fascination with the cinema. I have a lot to thank Jim Jarmusch for.