Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Gena Rowlands | ... | Victoria Snelling (segment "Los Angeles") | |
Winona Ryder | ... | Corky (segment "Los Angeles") | |
Lisanne Falk | ... | Rock Manager (segment "Los Angeles") | |
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Alan Randolph Scott | ... | Rock Musician #1 (segment "Los Angeles") |
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Anthony Portillo | ... | Rock Musician #2 (segment "Los Angeles") |
Armin Mueller-Stahl | ... | Helmut (segment "New York") | |
Giancarlo Esposito | ... | YoYo (segment "New York") | |
Rosie Perez | ... | Angela (segment "New York") | |
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Richard Boes | ... | Cab Driver #1 (segment "New York") |
Isaach De Bankolé | ... | Driver (segment "Paris") | |
Béatrice Dalle | ... | Blind Woman (segment "Paris") | |
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Pascal N'Zonzi | ... | Passenger #1 (segment "Paris") (as Pascal Nzonzi) |
Emile Abossolo M'bo | ... | Passenger #2 (as Émile Abossolo-M'bo) | |
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Stéphane Boucher | ... | Man in Accident (segment "Paris") (as Stephane Boucher) |
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Noel Kaufmann | ... | Man on Motorcycle (segment "Paris") |
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. Written by Ed Sutton <esutton@mindspring.com>
I suppose people will typically talk about they loved the NY and Rome stories, but hated the Helsinki segment, or vice-versa, or whatever. This probably comes from thinking of the entire movie as belonging to a single genre--drama, comedy, satire. If you take each story by itself, though, with an open mind, you will find yourself being entertained (mostly) in five different ways. Although of course we will all have our favorites.
I wondered briefly why there wasn't a segment set in Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan--to make it truly global. Of course it wouldn't be night at the same time on that side of the world. Jarmusch should have done it anyway.
Some think the movie is too long. But this is obviously a movie you don't need to watch in a single sitting; indeed, for the reason stated above, it's perhaps best watched a little at a time.