Hacker Cinema
Stranger Than Paradise
1984 · Film · 90 min
Directed by Jim Jarmusch
New York layabout Willie forms an unexpected bond with his young Hungarian cousin Eva when she pays him a surprise visit. Later, Eva moves in with their aunt in Cleveland, and Willie takes his best friend Eddie to see her—a visit that culminates in a strange, eventful trip to Florida.
2 positivefrom 2 commenters
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2 comments on Hacker News
I respect that. Crappiness is an underrated quality. I watched an interview with Barry Jenkins recently where he talked about his first short film. He talked about how the film had bad exposure, scratches on the film, weird color, etc. But at the same time, he still loved it, simply due to its uniqueness and rawness.
There's this assumption that every artist wants to mimic the big budget people. Or not even big budget, just medium budget. That filmmakers want to make movies which are shiny and polished. But a filmmaker who tries to imitate a big budget production with a shoestring budget isn't going to get a polished film at a tenth the budget. They're gonna get a weird uncanny valley, kinda good looking film that isn't quite indie, isn't quite mainstream. And trust me, as a begrudging attendee of many small film festivals, it's not a good look.
Contrast that to say, Stranger Than Paradise, which is remarkably simple and very obviously low budget. It's in black and white. The acting is a little rough around the edges. The sets are extraordinarily simple. The camera doesn't do anything fancy. Yet it works because it takes full advantage of its crappiness. It doesn't half ass quality, it full asses crappiness.
> nobody ever has to go to the bathroom
My favorite movie of all time is called Stranger Than Paradise by a director named Jim Jarmusch, in part because of its original treatment of these issues. The film is peppered with subtle little moments where, for example, a kitchen cabinet doesn't close correctly, or someone doesn't hear the person they're talking to correctly and asks them to repeat themselves.