Jim Jarmusch

Jarmusch movies miss everything that makes a successful Hollywood blockbuster. There's no complicated plot, there are no unexpected twists, no fast pace, no adrenaline action scenes, special effects or complex dialogues. On the basis of the above, one would expect a boring and stupid film, but Dawn by Law isn't one in any way. Like in Dead Man, by combining eccentric but natural and convincing characters with good direction and disturbing, somewhat "detuned" music, Jarmusch builds a specific atmosphere that will keep you pinned to the screen. When you on top of that add Roberto Benigni, who was born to be comic relief, and Tom Waits, who besides playing main main role also did some music for the film, perfection is guaranteed. For me, this movie, same as Dead Man, is a kind of cinematography meditation.

10/10

The movie has all the recognizable characteristics of Jim Jarmusch, which make him one of my favorite directors, but this time the story left me totally indifferent. Maybe the story is meaningless and empty, and maybe I did not get it right. Either way, this movie doesn't inspire me at all to write about it.

6/10

For interested, here's review from the IMDb that I liked:

"Jim Jarmusch's follow-up to 1986's 'Down By Law' is an engrossing trio of stories revolving around one night in a run-down Memphis hotel. Continuing his tradition of casting musicians as actors, he enlists Joe Strummer as a British Elvis and the late Screamin' Jay Hawkins as the hotel night clerk. R&B great Rufus Thomas appears in the train station, and Tom Waits is the voice of the radio DJ. John Lurie provides the score, along with a fabulous soundtrack of classic Memphis music (from Elvis Presley to the Bar-Kays). The stories are intertwined, with certain events being shown from the perspective of each of the three sets of characters. The town has fallen a bit since its heyday as a musical hotbed, but the spirits of its past can be sensed in the delapidated buildings and landscapes, all lovingly embraced by Jarmusch's lens. All of the night shots were actually filmed at night, and some scenes are subtitled in Japanese and Italian. As is typical with Jarmusch's work, the action unfolds at a leisurely pace, and not without some humor. The film's juxtaposing of cultures is a popular theme with the director, and one he would use again in his next anthology piece, 'Night On Earth'." - Michael Sean

At the same time, in five world metropolises (LA, NY, Paris, Rome and Helsinki), five taxi drivers have unusual night rides, through which we get to know various life stories. There's no much action in this movie and it's mostly comes down to dialogues between drivers and their passengers. It's interesting that each story is filmed in a language that is native to the city where the story takes place. So, if you don't speak all four languages, it's impossible to watch this without subtitles. Bit of emotion and bit of humor nicely mixed by recognizable recipe. In all of his movies music plays important role and in this one legendary Tom Waits had crucial part in making magical atmosphere typical for Jim Jarmusch.

8,5/10

Hypnotizing dream

Fantastic choice of actors, led by Johnny Depp, perfectly portraying a man who slowly crosses to the other side and blends with the nature on his last journey, and Gary Farmer, who brings some colour into this black and white masterpiece. Jarmusch overcame himself in this movie. Beautiful black and white cadres followed by Neil Young's hypnotizing guitar make us slip into a trance and drag us in another world, where we peacefully flow towards the end. The story is deep and sad, violent and romantic, at the same time full of death and full of life. The best performances of both Jarmusch and Young mixed together in one of the best movies of all time. It simply has no flaws at all.

10/10

For Jarmusch fans only

Jarmusch, inviolable master of slow psychedelic movies. If you do not like slow movies do not even try to watch this, because there's virtually no plot at all. The movie is based on the characterization of the protagonists, building of heavy atmosphere and it is visually fantastic. Although it technically falls within the vampire/fantasy genre, the movie does not have any of its characteristics. Tilda and Tom for two hours became an old married couple of vampires that will make you forget that vampires are just the fruit of the imagination and experience this movie as exceptionally realistic drama. Of course, Jarmusch wouldn't be Jarmusch if great psychedelic music didn't follow the whole story.

8,5/10

"Umro je drug Tito"

One of the most original films I've ever seen is composed entirely of scenes stolen from other films. Hungarian director György Pálfi has made a universal romantic drama, skillfully and humorously combining clips from several hundred films, so black and white and color scenes, different genres and shooting techniques, actors, locations and epochs, rapidly alternate before our eyes, all followed by nicely blended music, also borrowed from other films and series. Clips were reportedly downloaded from torrent sites and, in order to avoid copyright lawsuits, the film was published as educational material by the Hungarian University of Film and Theater. It may seem confusing and even unwatchable at first, but do not let it deter you, because you will get used to it very quickly and after a few minutes you will no longer need extra concentration. The idea is ingenious, a realization hypnotizing, and I am afraid to even speculate how extensive his knowledge of world cinema is, as well as how much time and patience it took to assemble and edit this madness. Even if we disregard all the other qualities, the effort itself deserves a maximum rating. Bravo!

10/10

Shamefully underrated

I can't understand why people are disappointed with this movie. If you are a fan of classic zombie horror, you have nothing to look for in a Jim Jarmusch movie, to begin with. On the other hand, if you're a Jarmusch fan, I don't know how you didn't expect exactly what you got. I'm honestly surprised by Jarmusch's choice of theme and genre, but when I accept that choice, the realization is more than satisfactory. An excellent satire of both modern consumer society and the zombie genre itself, filmed in typically Jarmusch's style. For those who complain about the slow pace and lack of real plot, I have only one question - have you ever watched anything from Jarmusch? It is not one of his best, but it is a great movie, very well shot, interestingly played and quite humorous. I only missed the excellent music that distinguished his previous films, which on this occasion was sacrificed for the sake of a pretty good joke.

8/10