On one night at the same time in five different cities around the world, taxicab drivers engage in uncannily fascinating dialogue with their passengers. In Los Angeles, an unkempt cab driver, played by Winona Ryder, is offered a starring role in a major movie when she picks up a casting agent, played by Gena Rowlands. In New York City, a young Brooklyn man, played by Giancarlo Esposito, hails a taxi, only to discover that the driver is a German immigrant, played by Armin Mueller-Stahl, who is unfamiliar with the city and barely knows how to operate his vehicle. In Paris, a driver from the Ivory Coast, played by Isaach De Bankolé, strikes up an revelatory conversation with a young blind woman, played by Béatrice Dalle. In Rome, a talkative and unrefined driver, played by Roberto Benigni, confesses his sexual secrets to an unwilling priest, played by Paolo Bonacelli. In Helsinki, three drunken passengers relay their heartbreaking tale of woe to a driver, played by Matti Pellonpää, only to discover that he has an even sadder story.
The 1991 anthology film,
Night on Earth, is the fifth feature-length directorial effort from Jim Jarmusch, whose previous leisurely-paced works,
Permanent Vacation (1980),
Stranger Than Paradise (1984),
Down by Law (1986), and
Mystery Train (1989), made a mark on independent cinema through their ability to unearth a myriad of layers from scenarios where nothing actually seems to happen. As the music of Tom Waits plays over various proceedings, viewers are only allowed a limited span of time with the taxi drivers and their fares, but I probably speak for most fans when I say that I would love for each character to have been showcased in his or her own movie. As is, the fleeting glimpses with which we come to know each person are marked with more relatable humor and tragedy than most lead characters are given during longer screen stories.
I do not connect with
Night on Earth quite as much as I do with Jarmusch's masterpieces,
Down by Law and
Mystery Train, but I still fall in love with the low-key narrative style of the five vignettes, which are brought to life with a visual splendor, thanks to cinematographer Frederick Elmes. I also love the idea that a taxi ride is a self-enclosed relationship, where passengers often feel free to share their innermost secrets with a stranger.
When I revisit this movie, I always remember a conversation that I had a couple of decades ago with a co-worker who had previously worked as taxi driver. He would share countless stories about passengers who paid him just to drive aimlessly around town for a while, simply because they were lonely and wanted someone to talk to in the big city.
As with the other
Criterion Blu-rays on my adventurous trip through Jarmusch-land, this disc shines with an impressively filmic transfer, with excellent audio quality to boot. I love the Q&A with Jarmusch, although I wish that it played out over the actual film in a commentary-like fashion. This time around, we also get a scene-specific track by key players.
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