Permanent Vacation
1980 Directed by Jim Jarmusch
Synopsis
In downtown Manhattan, a twenty-something boy whose Father is not around and whose Mother is institutionalized, is a big Charlie Parker fan. He almost subconsciously searches for more meaning in his life and meets a few characters along the way.
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Wanting to give Jarmusch another try after seeing Coffee and Cigarettes years ago, I figured I'd start from the beginning. With his debut film, Permanent Vacation, it's obvious that Jarmusch has an incredibly unique style and vibe that is almost the antithesis to Hollywood sensibilities and imaginings of rebellion and ennui. Instead of examining where that malaise comes from, he simply takes it as fact that some people feel this way, which is narratively liberating. He understands that Hollywood has been bastardizing this type of character for decades, and instead dives right into a slice-of-life story of this kind of character. Instead of being told through exposition and philosophical dialogues why Allie does what he does, Jarmusch is better able…
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Part of Jim Jarmusch January: A Director's Retrospective
It has taken me years to get to it, but Jim Jarmusch's feature film debut, Permanent Vacation just isn't very good. While it features a lot of stylistic attributes that would become fulfilled in his future films, Permanent Vacation feels more like a test film, and less like an actual film.
It was shot on 16mm when Jarmusch was 27, shortly after he dropped out of film school. Jarmusch's wishes to break film rules are clearly evident here, as this film isn't about much and has little care for conventional filming. But it's not that assured here, and the lively energy and eccentric nature is not quite here yet. But it's coming.
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Jim Jarmusch's debut film features all of his stylistic traits. The jazzy score, a strange and offbeat narrative, simplistic camerawork that accentuates character interactions and natural atmosphere. Chris Parker plays Allie, a young wanderer who aimlessly drifts around New York City encountering various characters and contemplating what to do with his life. He meets a Vietnam veteran living in the rubble of an apartment building, visits his mother who is in an institution, goes to a movie, among other things. He avoids responsibility and emotional connection, and as the title suggest and the ending implies, this self-inflicted social and cultural isolation has resulted in him always traveling in a constant state of permanent vacation. Jarmusch uses this character as a…
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State of American Independent Cinema 1980: this is what serious young film makers in the late 70's make when they are trying to be serious European film makers from the 60's.
One of many problems with getting much of your early exposure to film history from the Kevin Smith sections of "Spike, Mike, Slackers and Dykes" is that when you finally get around to seeing Jarmusch's first film, you don't know what to make of the moving camera. Atmospheric and strange, you can plainly see the seeds of not just his 80's work but themes he'd tackle in "The Limits Of Control" 30 years later.
In conclusion, Kevin Smith is still the worst.
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Jarmusch managed to debut with an 80's alienation film that feels like a 60's alienation film. The characters come out of the very scenery, cemented into abandoned corners of Manhattan. You can look for a while before the focal point of a shot really emerges. Aloysius, a jaded teenage car thief, is our tourist Ulysses. He ambles through this hopeless array of crazies, finding nothing he wants. We're honestly pretty sure he doesn't know what he wants himself. The entire experience is unfulfilling, but I can respect the lyric quality of a director's first steps. As a professional filmmaker, Jim Jarmusch embodies the phrase "All I know is that I know nothing." Like Aloysius, he is a tourist, and a rather poetic one at that.
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The clanging of the church bells is one of the most hypnotic things I've ever seen put on film. Considering how pretty much nothing happens in its 70 minute runtime, this movie's pretty damn fascinating.
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State of American Independent Cinema 1980: this is what serious young film makers in the late 70's make when they are trying to be serious European film makers from the 60's.
One of many problems with getting much of your early exposure to film history from the Kevin Smith sections of "Spike, Mike, Slackers and Dykes" is that when you finally get around to seeing Jarmusch's first film, you don't know what to make of the moving camera. Atmospheric and strange, you can plainly see the seeds of not just his 80's work but themes he'd tackle in "The Limits Of Control" 30 years later.
In conclusion, Kevin Smith is still the worst.
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This film is stellar and while it is far stretch from the style and world Jarmusch now invokes in his films, between its desultory hipster characters and preoccupation with finding beauty in the most rundown of places, it is a nice window into the director as he was still finding his voice.
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It's a thin line between hipster appropriation and a loss of identity. Certainly a Jarmusch story, but doesn't particularly look or feel like a Jarmusch movie.
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An ideal hipster's journey. Plus, Burrell from the Wire is in it.
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Wanting to give Jarmusch another try after seeing Coffee and Cigarettes years ago, I figured I'd start from the beginning. With his debut film, Permanent Vacation, it's obvious that Jarmusch has an incredibly unique style and vibe that is almost the antithesis to Hollywood sensibilities and imaginings of rebellion and ennui. Instead of examining where that malaise comes from, he simply takes it as fact that some people feel this way, which is narratively liberating. He understands that Hollywood has been bastardizing this type of character for decades, and instead dives right into a slice-of-life story of this kind of character. Instead of being told through exposition and philosophical dialogues why Allie does what he does, Jarmusch is better able…
-
Jarmusch managed to debut with an 80's alienation film that feels like a 60's alienation film. The characters come out of the very scenery, cemented into abandoned corners of Manhattan. You can look for a while before the focal point of a shot really emerges. Aloysius, a jaded teenage car thief, is our tourist Ulysses. He ambles through this hopeless array of crazies, finding nothing he wants. We're honestly pretty sure he doesn't know what he wants himself. The entire experience is unfulfilling, but I can respect the lyric quality of a director's first steps. As a professional filmmaker, Jim Jarmusch embodies the phrase "All I know is that I know nothing." Like Aloysius, he is a tourist, and a rather poetic one at that.
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Ambling and rambling but fun if you're willing to take that ride. I love the last shot.
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I feel the same about Limits of Control as I do this one, I respect it, but don't like it.
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The clanging of the church bells is one of the most hypnotic things I've ever seen put on film. Considering how pretty much nothing happens in its 70 minute runtime, this movie's pretty damn fascinating.