Night on Earth (1991)

An anthology of 5 different cab drivers in 5 American and European cities and their remarkable fares on the same eventful night.

Director:

Jim Jarmusch

Writer:

Jim Jarmusch

Stars:

Gena Rowlands, Winona Ryder, Lisanne Falk

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gena Rowlands	...	Victoria Snelling
Winona Ryder	...	Corky
Lisanne Falk	...	Rock Manager
Alan Randolph Scott	...	Rock Musician #1
Anthony Portillo	...	Rock Musician #2
Armin Mueller-Stahl	...	Helmut Grokenberger
Giancarlo Esposito	...	YoYo
Rosie Perez	...	Angela
Richard Boes	...	Cab Driver #1
Isaach De Bankolé	...	Driver - Paris
Béatrice Dalle	...	Blind Woman
Pascal N'Zonzi	...	Passenger #1 (as Pascal Nzonzi)
Emile Abossolo M'bo	...	Passenger #2 (as Émile Abossolo-M'bo)
Stéphane Boucher	...	Man in Accident (as Stephane Boucher)
Noel Kaufmann	...	Man on Motorcycle

Storyline

A collection of five stories involving cab drivers in five different cities. Los Angeles - A talent agent for the movies discovers her cab driver would be perfect to cast, but the cabbie is reluctant to give up her solid cab driver's career. New York - An immigrant cab driver is continually lost in a city and culture he doesn't understand. Paris - A blind girl takes a ride with a cab driver from the Ivory Coast and they talk about life and blindness. Rome - A gregarious cabbie picks up an ailing man and virtually talks him to death. Helsinki - an industrial worker gets laid off and he and his compatriots discuss the bleakness and unfairness of love and life and death.

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Plot Keywords:

anthology | conversation | reference to popeye | l. a. x. | social differences | 

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Taglines:

Five Taxis. Five Cities. One Night.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language, and some drug use

Details

Country:

France UK Germany USA Japan

Language:

English French Finnish Italian German

Release Date:

12 December 1991 (Germany)

Also Known As:

LANewYorkParisRomeHelsinki

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn Bridge, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$2,015,810 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Victor Company of Japan (JVC), Victor Musical Industries, Pyramide Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The names "Mika" and "Aki" are taken from directors Mika Kaurismäki and Aki Kaurismäki. Brothers Kaurismäki have also frequently used the main cast of the Finnish segment (Matti Pellonpää, Kari Väänänen and Sakari Kuosmanen)

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Goofs

This film takes place sometime during the winter, and the opening story takes place in Los Angeles starting at 7:07 PM. At no time during the winter would Los Angeles be this sunny at 7:07 PM. In fact, the latest time of day the sun would set during the winter would be at 6:07 PM on March 20, the last day of winter. (Currently, March 20 would occur during Daylight Savings Time, but, in 1991, Daylight Savings Time did not begin until April.)

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Quotes

Angela: Well, fuck you, fuck you, and fuck you!
Yoyo: Look, Angela, just shut up!
Angela: No, you shut up! Don't you be tellin' me to shut up!
Yoyo: Shut up!
Angela: You shut up!
Yoyo: No, you shut up!
Yoyo: [frustrated] Shit!
[he unzips his jacket]
Angela: You know what your fuckin' problem is, Yoyo? You don't realize you're wearin' your ass on your head!

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Crazy Credits

During the end credits, the titles of the crew members are in the language of the place/unit they worked in (ie the Helsinki unit's credits are in Finnish, and so on).

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Connections

References Down by Law (1986)

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Soundtracks

"Cycle-Delic"
Performed by Davie Allan & The Arrows
Written by Davie Allan
Courtesy of Capital Records, Inc.
By Arrangement with CEMA Special Markets and Curb Records, A California Corporation
Mike Curb Music (BMI)

User Reviews

Original, funny and tragic

Jim Jarmusch does an excellent job in creating character conflict and intriguing, realistic dialogue. But what I admire most in this movie are the opening scenes of every segment. He knows how to capture the essence of every city and how to establish mood. National Geographic has nothing over Jarmusch's photographic talent.

All segments are well written and tie in with the respective cities that are the back drop of the film: LA, NY, Paris, Rome and Helsinki. The Helsinki segment is the most depressing and it's kind of a bummer that the movie had to end on that note. The Paris segment steals the show. Incredible camera work and terrific dialogue.

Overall, the movie gave me a renewed appreciation for cinema. Thanks Jarmusch.