Jim Jarmusch: Five of the Best

By Travis Johnson

Down by Law (1986)

Jarmusch’s third film after Permanent Vacation (1980) and Stranger Than Paradise (1984) sees John Lurie, Tom Waits and Roberto Benigni as three convicts who bust out of a Louisiana jail together. Not so much a big house drama as a wry comedy of manners; dialogue is king here, with the gorgeous soundtrack by Waits and Lurie coming a close second.

Mystery Train (1989)

The angle here is “Jarmusch does Altman”, kind of, as three separate stories unfold over the course of one night. An Evlis-obsessed Japanese couple (Youki Kudoh and Masatoshi Nagase) make a pilgrimage to Sun Records, an Italian widow (Nicoletta Braschi) escorting her late husband’s coffin shares a flophouse room with a recently single young woman (Elizabeth Bracco), and a heartbroken young man (Joe Strummer) goes on a drunken crime spree in this ambling love letter to Elvis, the blues and Americana.

Dead Man (1995)

A house built at the crossroads of Native American spirituality and William Blake mysticism, this lyrical Western sees Johnny Depp’s dying tenderfoot embrace his spiritual destiny as a killer of men and a wanderer of lost pathways. Arguably Jarmusch’s best cast (Gary Farmer, Lance Henriksen, Robert Mitchum, Iggy Pop, Billy Bob Thornton, Gabriel Byrne, Crispin Glover, Michael Wincott, John Hurt and more) come together against a somber monochrome setting and a haunting soundtrack by Neil Young.

Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai (1999)

Jarmusch’s ode to hip hop and chambira cinema sees Forest Whitaker’s titular Zen hitman take on the mob. The closest Jarmusch has ever come to making an action movie, Ghost Dog is still threaded with his trademark playfulness, such as Isaac De Bankole’s Francophone ice cream man and Cliff Gorman’s rapping Mafiosi. Also features another great soundtrack, this time produced by RZA, who gets a small cameo.

Coffee and Cigarettes (2004)

A portmanteau of shorts about the eponymous pairing, this project was pretty much an excuse for Jarmusch to bring together his famous friends in odd couplings and let the camera roll – and it works a treat. Tom Waits and Iggy Pop play a subtle game of one-upmanship, Cate Blanchett plays herself and her own cousin, Bill Murray serves the Wu-Tang Clan at a diner, and Jack White shows Meg his tesla coil. A note-perfect study in detached cool.

Apart from Paterson and Gimme Danger, Melbourne’s ACMI is hosting a short season titled Jim Jarmusch Rock ‘n’ Roll between December 27 and January 16.