The Ultimate Challenge - Film #2
Added to: People-being-People List

It's clear that I haven't watched enough Jarmusch yet. Night on Earth is one of the most enjoyable cinematic experiences I've ever had and that only comes from one thing: it's unbridled realism. Yes, there are some overtly expressive characters in here and some ridiculous cases of black humor but I feel (feel, as this is only my second Jarmusch) that this is exactly the thing that makes his films so worthwhile.

My only other experience with his cinema was his 2014 feature Only Lovers Left Alive, a bleak interpretation of the vampire myth, that lives on its humane undertone in these inexplicable creatures. With Night on Earth this is…

Night on Earth surpassed my expectations. I always love character studies and this is like having five, mini-character studies in one film. Each segment as good as the last.

We are taken to Los Angeles, NYC, Paris, Rome and Helsinki. Each story has it's own personality, much like the individual person driving the taxi, the individuals as passengers and the city themselves are given a perfect opportunity to show their individual personalities too, through the people who live and work there and not to mention the beautiful shots captured on film, city landscapes from the hood of the car and wide shots of the city itself.

Jim Jarmusch did a wonderful job filming each city too, the audience feels as…

I can't believe it took me more than 20 years to see this movie. I remember when it came out in 1991 I was very young but remember thinking it looked interesting. Now finally seeing it, I'm shocked at how much I loved this and feel like kicking myself for waiting so long to see it. I could see this movie cracking my Top 100 of all time list.

Without giving too much away, the film tells five different stories all taking place at night in different parts of the world in taxi cabs. The characters are typical Jim Jarmusch, all eccentric in their own ways. The most popular segment I think is the Winona Ryder segment that opens up…

Included In Lists:
Great Movies
Criterion Collection - #401

Review In A Nutshell:

I started Jim Jarmusch's filmography with Down By Law, and that film left me kind of disappointed due to it's emotionless atmosphere and lack of drive during the first half of the film. Though left underwhelmed, I still had faith on Jarmusch as there is something about his style and storytelling that makes me want to come back for more. I came into Night on Earth with small expectations and surprisingly, it succeeded in surpassing it and delivered an experience I wouldn't forget.

The film doesn't feature a plot or a even a clear connection or similarities between each of the five storylines, aside from the fact…

Five different cab rides in five different metropolises at night...
Each segment telling a little story totally relying on its characters who play moral compasses enriched with Jarmusch's sense of humor.
As this is an anthology film I'll review each episode which differ in terms of quality although only the first one really falls flat.

Los Angeles - "Acting": Winona Ryder meets Gena Rowlands - a casting agent - who wants to cast her as she fell in love with her "attitude". As I trust Jarmusch I think he must have cast Ryder on purpose who is simply awful as a chain-smoking, swearing, gum-chewing girl from "the streets". As the plot is about casting and Hollywood I assume this can…

" Every single vignette is handed perfectly. The 8 day project writing the screenplay is not visible, it seems Jim really crafted every single story from point a to b "

I especially loved Paris, Rome and Helsinki segments. Jarmusch made this movie feel nostalgic and there is no weak points. Well... there is kinda two. I did not care that much the LA and NY segments, cos they were kinda similar. The NY part was actually kinda funny and Armin Muehler-Stahl was surprisingly funny as Helmut and Giancarlo Esposito is really good as Yo-Yo.

In Paris segment... I think that might be the best of the vignettes. It is so subtle, there is no comedy, it´s just perfect and…

Roger Ebert in his review for Jim Jarmusch's 'Night on Earth' called Jarmusch a 'poet of the night'. This is such a fitting description of Jarmusch's storytelling in not only this particular film, but also in certain parts of another Jarmusch film that I love, 'Mystery Train'. Jarmusch is interested in the random people that walk/drive in the streets at night. 'Night on Earth' is an anthology film about various characters from various cities in the world connected by the fact that they either drive/board a taxi on this particular night on earth.

At the start of each vignette/episode, we get the same shot of various clocks on a wall showing the time in the different cities that the film…