Night on Earth (Jim Jarmusch, 1991)

Night on Earth (Jim Jarmusch, 1991)
Rating: 9.8

Night on Earth was written, produced, and directed by Jarmusch and it consists of five separate plot lines taking place simultaneously in five different cities (LA, New York, Paris, Rome, and Helsinki) with dialogue in five different languages(English, French, Finnish, Italian, and German). The script is brilliant as the film is almost entirely dialogue driven. Despite the lack of major plot points, I was engrossed in the naturalistic conversations between the diverse group of interesting characters. Jarmusch's odd pairing of drivers and customers is entertaining in itself. In the first story a high society casting agent (Gena Rowland) decides to slum it in a taxi rather than wait for a limo. Her driver Corky (Winona Ryder), is a tomgirl and aspiring mechanic. Corky turns down an offer to be a movie star, remaining true to herself, insisting that she has everything planned and things are going perfect for her. The New York story, which is my personal favorite, pairs a young African American man who goes by the name of YoYo with an immigrant and former circus clowen from East Germany named Helmut who can barely drive a car and has no clue how to get around the city. YoYo ends up driving the cab and later catches his sister-in-law (Rosie Perez) whoring the streets. The Paris segment includes an African immigrant from the Ivory Coast with a blind woman and continues to emphasize that stereotyping and making assumptions about people is of course ignorant. Roberto Benigni is the star of the hilarious Rome segment. After picking up a catholic priest, Benigni proceeds to confess his sexual misadventures with pumpkins, a sheep, and his brother's wife in what is basically a monologue. The final episode in Helsinki includes a group of drunken factory workers who trade tales of misfortune with the driver. Although minimalist, the concept is original, the film is genuinely hilarious, and it puts Kevin Smith's much discussed dialogue driven films to shame. My only complaint would have to be the ridiculously cheesy font during the opening credits.