Down By Law (Jarmusch, 1986): Prince Charles Cinema, 6pm
This film, which also screens on August 8th, is part of the Jim Jarmusch season at the Prince Charles Cinema. Full details here.
Time Out review:
Reissued in a new digital print,
Jim Jarmusch’s deliciously deadpan third feature (first released in
1986) looks more than ever like a milestone in American independent
cinema. Though not bound to the intellectual angst of Cassavetes, the
anti-authoritarian anger of ‘Easy Rider’ or the aloofness of European
art cinema (yet clearly influenced by all three), Jarmusch proved DIY
film could be heartfelt, charming, wise and silly all at the same time.
On a sweaty night in New Orleans, three mismatched oddballs – DJ Zack
(Tom Waits), hipster pimp Jack (John Lurie) and stray Italian tourist
Roberto (Roberto Benigni) – are banged up for a variety of perceived
misdemeanours. Trapped together in a tiny cell, the men must learn to
deal with each other’s shortcomings. The claustrophobic setting and
semi-improvised tone might suggest something closer to sitcom than
cinema (had Jarmusch seen ‘Porridge’?), but Robby Müller’s stately
monochrome photography single-handedly lifts it into the realm of Proper
Art. It’s a sad and beautiful world indeed.
Tom Huddleston
Here (and above) is the trailer.
