I love a good movie about nothing. In this particular movie about nothing, sixteen year old Eva from Budapest meets up with her slacker cousin and his friend in 1980s New York, then later in Cleveland, and from there the three go on a road-trip to Florida. Like many of director Jim Jarmusch's characters, these guys are cool. They almost strut, they give zero fucks. What's amusing about the men in this film is that they're clearly trying really hard to give that impression. Eva is more authentic, walking straight ahead, carrying her radio playing Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You" and showing no emotion on her face.
The black and white photography is gorgeous, with each scene ending by cutting to a few seconds of black. It has this surreal View-Master effect, like I'm spying on someone else's life in tiny installments. I loved the sparse but beautiful score (which the Internet tells me is by star John Lurie! Thanks, Internet!) and its confident slow pace. I never thought I could be so enthralled watching characters sitting in a movie theater, watching a movie that the audience can't see. These characters are interesting in their listnessness. You want to know more about them, but the film keeps you at a distance and you become content to just watch and wonder.
I'm always game to watch and wonder. That's what this gig is all about.
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