From writer/director Jim Jarmusch (Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, Broken Flowers), I had no clue what this film featuring the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die book was about, and to be honest, that didn't change much when I watched it. Basically Willie (John Lurie) is a self confessed hipster and slacker living in New York City, and his Hungarian cousin Eva (Eszter Balint) has arrived unexpectedly for a surprise visit lasting for ten days, while Aunt Lotte (Cecillia Stark) is in hospital. For a while he makes it clear he is not happy with her being around, but over time he enjoys her company, one instance where he really likes her is after she steals groceries and makes a TV dinner for him. The ten days pass and Eva is ready to leave, but is obvious Willie is upset after she has gone, Eddie (Richard Edson) made sure to help her out before she left, but Willie really wants her back. It is after winning a large amount of money cheating in a game of poker that the two friends start a journey to Cleveland, but even when they do find her, and spend some time with her friend Billy (Danny Rosen) they find they are just as bored as when they were in New York. Willie and Eddie decide rather than go back home to travel to Florida, and obviously they take Eva with them, but after settling a bit they lose all the money they have betting on dog races, and they try to win it back in horse races. After a trip to the beach Eva is mistaken for a drug dealer and gets a large amount of money, which she leaves some of for Willie, along with a note that she is going to the airport, and she sees the only European place to go is Budapest, her original home country. She decides to wait until the next day, and Willie and Eddie return having won all the money back on the horse races, but they find Eva has gone, and after seeing the note Willie rushes to get on the plane she should be travelling. The final shot though sees Willie getting on the plane to Budapest and it taking off, Eddie watches it take off and leave, but Eva has in fact gone back to the hotel they were staying, to an empty room. I can't really say anything much about the stars as I know none of them, only that they do a good job to not express many expressions and emotions at all, the same can be said for director Jarmusch, who creates a rather quiet film with not much going on, it is honestly a little dull, but that actually adds to the odd atmosphere and overall unpredictable feel of this strangely fascinating road movie drama. Good!
Review of Stranger Than Paradise
