Stranger than Paradise
John Lurie, Jim Jarmusch, and Hungarian Hip
Some films took me by surprise. Stranger Than Paradise was one of them. It was continuous shots, and the actors were following a script, but like actors in a stage play. This style was used in the film, Dogville, which filmed on an almost bare soundstage in Sweden. The houses, streets, and plants were drawn with chalk. I didn’t think I’d like it at first, but I left in stunned silence after the electrifying ending, which was both horrifying and just.
As I understand it, John Lurie took the idea for Stranger Than Paradise to Jim Jarmusch and they shot the film in black and white for a hundred grand. This was in 1984, 11 years before Dogme 95, a Danish filmmaking movement by Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, which used similar long takes. The rules for Dogme 95 films were use of hand held cameras only, no artificial lighting or staging, and locations are not altered by adding or removing things. The role of director was more the role of cinematographer.
Stranger Than Paradise has just 67 shots.
Lurie was one of the three main characters in Stranger than Paradise, and the film evolved in three primary sets, or, locations, New York City, Cleveland and Florida. The first set was a tiny apartment on a dreary urban street, the second a Cleveland industrial area, and the third a motel on the Florida coast. Other sets included Aunt Lotte’s house in Cleveland and the audience section of a movie house.
Richard Edson and Eszter Balint play the other lead roles, and Cecillia Stark, played Aunt Lotte, who in the film speaks just Hungarian. It is remarkable that simple events are interesting when the characters are interesting, as when Willie buys a dress for Eva, who is not a dress kind of person. Or, when Willie doesn’t like “that kind of music,” when Eva plays Screaming Jay Hawkins, “Put a Spell on You.” When I saw the film I heard Hawkins for the first time and was an instant fan.
John Lurie is a musician, who played saxophone with the band he started, “The Lounge Lizards.” He also created a fictional independent artist, Marvin Pontiac (complete with back story) and released an album under that name. He recently published a memoir, “The History of Bones.”
Stranger Than Paradise is now streaming on HBO Max, which also streams Jarmusch’s Down by Law, with Lurie, Tom Waits, and Oscar winning Italian actor Roberto Benigni. A new series written and performed by Lurie, Painting With John, is also on HBO Max, and though I’ve watched just one episode, I’m hooked. I want one of his paintings.
