Friday Night Flicks: Stranger Than Paradise
Seeing as I’m currently barricaded behind the merch booth at the Surf Factory By The Sea - our second annual saturnalia of sun, surf, and sound - I’m going to keep it short here.
This week’s flick is Stranger Than Paradise, directed by Jim Jarmusch. It was Jarmusch’s first real film of any consequence, although some would argue it’s his best - myself included. Between Painting With John, Lounge Lizards, and Marvin Pontiac, I’ve learned to automatically grant any project involving John Lurie - who stars as Willie in the film - permanent residence in my brain. On top of that, I recently learned that supporting actor Richard Edson played drums on Sonic Youth’s self-titled EP. He’s the man who gilded the Burning Spear.
In all honesty, Stranger Than Paradise is a pretty tedious watch. Not much happens in its ninety-minute runtime, which mostly consists of long, single-shot conversation sequences - usually pointless arguments about cigarettes or horse racing - but, if you’re into that sort of thing, that slow-burn, trance-inducing vibe, nobody does it better than Jim. Click the link below to enter the void. —Jackson Todd
