Down by Law

I've seen a couple of Jarmusch movies and except for Dead Man (which I thought was an incredible bore), they were all great.

Down By Law is probably one his best known flicks and is a very good low budget movie. It features Tom Waits, who's not only a fine musician but proves to be a decent actor as well; John Lurie, who also wrote the excellent soundtrack (Waits delivered the opening and end-credits track btw); Roberto Benigni, who nowadays is most famous for directing the Oscar-winning Italian film "La Vita E Bella".

The movie deals about three guys who meet in prison and escape. It reminded me of "O Brother Where Are Thou?" and, perhaps because of it being filmed in black and white, of old 40's movies about escaping prisoners (can't think of a good example, but you get the picture).

Three things I liked very much about this movie:

1. It's incredibly funny, especially Benigni made me laugh every time he opened his mouth - He irritated me highly in "La Vita E Bella" so that must mean something....

2. The frame of the camera is very well used. Look at the scene where Lurie counts the money and a hooker is laying behind him on the bed and the scene after that. Another example is when Benigni is dancing with a lady and the other two guys are continuing their breakfast in the back.

3. It's very hard to pinpoint when the story takes place; it's timeless in more than one way, obviously helped by the lack of color.

All in all, this one comes highly recommended.

A cult classic - and yet still relatively little known. Jim Jarmusch is a master when it comes to creating atmosphere (and nobody uses stretches of silence to better comedic effect than he does). Shot in beautiful black and white, this tale of three prisoners who make for very unlikely companions is all mood, deadpan humour and practically no action.

Don't expect a story - just enjoy the ride, the dialogues (consisting mainly of the word 'F***' - unless it's Benigni talking: his chaotic, broken English lines are another highlight of the film) and the fantastic soundtrack by John Lurie and Tom Waits. Perhaps the epitome of a cult movie, this one goes down like a cool beer on a hot summer evening (and as with all cult movies, it is best seen with an audience that already knows and loves the film). A minimalistic comedy masterpiece. 9 stars out of 10.

Favorite Films: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054200841/

Lesser-known Masterpieces: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070242495/

Favorite Low-Budget and B-movies: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054808375/

Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls075552387/

I've been binging Jarmusch's filmography this week for the first-time knowing little about his films and style of storytelling. In my opinion, this is his greatest achievement. The cinematography is beautiful; all of the river-boating scenes looked incredible. The performances are all great, especially Benigni's who had me in tears from laughter. The pacing is also solid; how these three very different men form a bond is a marvel to experience. On the whole, the story is a unique take on the 'prison film' and operates in that perfect balance of quirky and realistic. If you're like me and you're ripping through Jarmusch films for the first time, I'd say this is a pretty great introduction to the man and his mind.

A prison film without an overt sense of morality? That comes as no surprise from Jim Jarmusch. One of the pioneers of independent filmmaking in the 1980s, Jarmusch cares little for plot or crafting a message for his audience and much more about drawing up scenarios for his characters that reveal nuances of the human condition.

"Down by Law" features three men in New Orleans who are guilty of their crimes though wrongfully imprisoned. Zack (Tom Waits) is a radio DJ who — after being thrown out by his girlfriend — agrees to a shady odd job driving a car that sets him up to take a fall. Jack (John Lurie) is a local pimp who ends up the victim of a sting operation. Both men feel unfairly hit just for letting their guard down. In prison they meet Bob (Roberto Benigni), an optimistic and overly friendly Italian immigrant with a similar story. The three men connect within confinement, but that bond is tested in new ways after they escape.

Aside from Zack and Jack's arrests, Jarmusch takes his laid back approach to most of the events in the film, choosing to show only the aftereffects of the major plot points that most filmmakers would want to depict on screen. He did the same thing in "Stranger Than Paradise" a couple years earlier, wanting to focus his film on how the characters respond to swings of fortune. The prison break, for example, is not explained. We only see the before followed by a cut to the three prisoners on the run.

Zack, Jack and Bob make for an interesting trio, particularly Bob. Benigni brings impeccable spirit and joviality to break up the somewhat slogging animosity between carefree cool guy Zack (Waits is spot-on casting) and the self-righteous, sarcastic Jack (deployed similarly to the way he was in "Stranger Than Paradise"). Benigni is specifically responsible for a couple of the film's best moments, one an ice cream protest and the other involving a rabbit. His comedy brings a dimension and energy to this film that "Paradise" was missing, and it fits within Jarmusch's style and framework.

"Down by Law" also feels more cinematic. Jarmusch includes more of the New Orleans setting and the Louisiana wilderness with dollying/trucking shots that help immerse his very intimate stories in something larger, in this case the lawlessness of NOLA and the swampland. Maybe Jarmusch doesn't have a neatly wrapped up moral to send us home with, his film clearly establishes a belief in an unpredictability to our world. And given the way his characters handle it, you can tell that he views humans as people who are eternally torn between self-interest and companionship.

Jarmusch's early work shows great vision of how he wants to tell stories, with less emphasis on what those stories are trying to say. It's as though he's running experiments with his characters, and what plays out in his films are the results. Fans of art films and theatre will surely appreciate these early offerings, while those who prefer a director take them on a ride rather than present them an experiment to observe will have trouble connecting.

~Steven C

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If i had to describe any aspect of this flick i'd say it was "crafted". Utterly sublime direction from Jarmusch, with a sense of desolation in the landscape that is captured so well, it's almost surreal. Waits is, simply put, a genius, and puts in a performance which would silence any who feel that "you can't be both an actor and a musician". Benigni and Lurie are both a delirius joy and deliciously despicable respectively. The use of Waits' music within the film only heightens the sense of dusty Americana, and hip oddball style. It reminds me that indie-film snobs have actually got something right for a change, and its cult classic status is rightly deserved. Exquisitely shot, with an excellent soundtrack and sterling performances. Highly recommended, especially for fans of Waits and Benigny. Also, it's the only film that makes me want ice cream....