Night on Earth

I never thought that watching a car for 2 hours would be so enjoyable. But when there's a witty script with ornate dialogue, and even better, when it's all written by Jarmusch and scored by the brilliant madman Tom Waits, it's actually no wonder. Five short stories from different settings and with people of different mentalities and one is better than the other. From Los Angeles to Helsinki, people everywhere experience their own mini-dramas, and Jarmusch has a wonderful and warmly human way of talking about it. (14.07.2003)

Los Angeles: 5/5 New York: 5/5 Paris: 4/5 Rome: 3/5 Helsinki: 4/5 (05.09.2009)

Few people can tell stories about nothing as captivatingly as Jarmusch. And even though he presents five simple short stories, the viewer always feels the mood he tries to evoke. During Los Angeles, there is a narrating charm, New York warms the heart, the East German clown convinces about the power of life's destinies, Paris tunes into melancholy, and Rome will make you laugh out loud as the most successful anecdote. And then come Helsinki in the early morning, which gets under your skin and doesn't allow the viewer to stop thinking about this Night. (14.07.2006)

Thanks to Night on Earth, Jarmusch became a recognized icon of the American independent scene and gained recognition from film fans around the world. Each of the five film stories provides an interesting humorous tale, where it's not about major dramas, but about small fragments of the life of the city inhabitants thousands of kilometers apart. The story from Rome is the most likely to entice audiences, in which Roberto Benigni particularly despicably eliminates a poor priest, but my favorite is the French story, where a black taxi driver struggles with an eccentric blind girl. The most sympathetic character of all is probably portrayed by Armin Mueller-Stahl, who plays a fresh immigrant in New York, trying to make a living as a taxi driver despite his limited language and driving knowledge. Overall impression: 90%. (30.04.2009)

Ein nächster hinreißender Film vom ewig originellen Jim Jarmusch. Am meisten haben mir die Geschichten aus New York und Rom gefallen. Das heißt aber nicht, dass ich an den anderen etwas auszusetzen habe. Im Gegenteil. In der Einfachheit liegt die Kraft. Jim Jarmusch weiß es und seine scheinbar kleinen Filme sind so groß… Es ist schwer, etwas über sie zu schreiben. Sehr schwer.__PS: Die Musik von Waits ist wie immer ausgezeichnet. (05.08.2013)

Another unique Jarmusch. You may not like his style, but you must admit that the man has something to say with his work (which cannot be said of the vast majority of his peers). In any case, after this charming experience, I can no longer claim that Quentin Tarantino is the only one who can make an entertaining two hours of uninterrupted dialogue, because Jarmusch does it here so brilliantly that I not only listened attentively the whole time, but also laughed out loud and wondered how those strange/ordinary people were spouting such strange/ordinary wisdom. Although each story is made of a different dough of mood and applies different human qualities, in all of them we glimpse at least a piece of ourselves, a piece of character that everyone regularly shows (or at least should). New York was funny and kind, Paris friendly and affectionate, L.A. beautifully paced, and Helsinki delightfully tragicomic. I only didn't like the Rome part, although Benigni's problems are probably part of life too. :)) 85% (23.02.2014)