Stranger than Paradise

by MICHAEL PASTORINO · August 5, 2008

    Stranger Than ParadiseJohn Lurie, of Lounge Lizards fame, stars in this 1984 indie classic about trying to find paradise on this side of the Atlantic. Ex-Hungarians Willy and his cousin Eva lead lives on the fringe, searching for the American dream, and finding instead NY without the skyscrapers and Florida without the palm trees. Writer/director Jim Jarmusch shoots on black and white, and pulls off a lot of long, still shots that freeze these restless 20-somethings in great scenes that highlight their static lives. The only problem with the movie is that it ends too soon.