MovieChat Forums > Permanent Vacation (1984) Discussion > I want those 70mins of my life back!

I want those 70mins of my life back!

posted 14 years ago by longshanks_68
8 replies | jump to latest

First let me say, I am a fanatical Jim Jarmusch fan. Also I realize this is his first effort, and it's basically a student film. Of course these facts should be taken into consideration when critiquing this.

That being said, Permanent Vacation was nonetheless a waste of time. Can't remember the last time I sat through something so dull. Running in only at about 70 minutes, it seemed surprisingly long.

The lead Chris Parker was the worst thing about it. That voice of his too, they should have dubbed him. I'm sure they could have found a drama student with more talented acting chops than this guy. It's not surprising to find that this lanky goof and his monotone cardboard-underacting never allowed his 'acting' career to progress.

This 'film' aside, I really do think Jarmusch can do no wrong otherwise.

[–] samwise84 14 years ago

I'd agree with this 100%.

There were a lot of great shots but that's all there was to it. I think this is the only reason he was able to get funding to direct a second film, because this one is just awful but it is clear that he has a lot of talent as a director.

I imagine the screenplay for this being about 10 pages long as virtually nothing happens plot-wise and then he just films whatever catches his eye when he's shooting. I get this impression with some of Jarmush's other films too but I think in his later films he makes it work really well, but with this film it's just so dull it's painfully hard to watch.

[–] sonwolc 14 years ago

I personally consider Permanent Vacation a modern classic. and I assume you are unfamiliar with the no wave cinema.
Permanent Vacation, like Stranger Than Paradise, is somewhere in between no wave and modern independent-cinema, it lacks plot because the topic of the film is life, the lives of the characters; and life does not have a plot.
that's the topic of almost all Jim Jarmusch films and that's why I prefer his earlier work over his later films (maybe except for The Limits Of Control, I liked that one).I despise films that can be completely summed up in one sentence, like every Hollywood film.

http://landundstadt.blogspot.com/

[–] samwise84 14 years ago

I'm not at all surprised that this film polarizes opinion. The original poster demands "I want those 70 mins of my life back" while you describe the film as a "modern classic". This is clearly a film that people will either love or hate - I cant imagine anyone saying, "yeah, that was alright..." - and I'm guessing most people will hate it.

I thought the film was just intensely dull. The only scene I liked was when Alle was dancing in the girl's room. But that was it. Stranger Than Paradise was better than Permanent Vacation but I thought both were poor. I'm well aware that Jarmusch's films are dominated by character rather than plot but I found the characters in these two films, particularly PV to be mind-numbingly uninteresting.

For me these two films were a learning process for Jarmusch that built up to Down By Law, which I thought was excellent. Everything about it was spot on and I think it's clearly superior to his first two attempts. What are your thoughts on this?

You're right, I'm not familiar with the term "no wave" - That's because I don't feel the need to put labels on everything. I've seen more than my fair share of films so I've probably seen many more that you would slap the "no wave" label on. Nothing I have ever seen before has been as shockingly bad as Permanent Vacation.

Thanks for the pearl of wisdom regarding Hollywood, I was totally unaware that they made pointless movies, I am now enlightened...

[–] sonwolc 14 years ago

"Thanks for the pearl of wisdom regarding Hollywood, I was totally unaware that they made pointless movies, I am now enlightened..."

there is absolutely no need for this sarcastic remark, as I stated my OPINION and not a universal truth. if there was only a single truth, discussing would be pointless, as we then could solve everything by saying: "well, just look it up"
that PV was influenced by the no wave cinema movement on the other hand is a fact and not just my "need to put labels on everything", and thus your calling PV "shokingly bad" and your being unfamiliar with what the no wave cinema actually was go hand in hand.

"I've probably seen many more that you would slap the "no wave" label on"
I, with all due respect, doubt that, or you wouldn't have been surprised about how "shokingly bad" permanent vacation is.

about the "learning process":
I agree and disagree. Jarmusch evolved as far as the technical aspects of filmmaking are concerned, the craft if you will. but at the core all characteristics of Jarmusch films are already there in PV. the special mood of Permanent Vacation and Stranger Than Paradise is partly due to their "rough edges" (you can call it "amateurishness" if you want to) what makes them significantly harder to appreciate at first, but as soon as you got used to that it's like a whole new perspective on the world unfolding before you.
there's no Jarmusch film I particularly dislike, but my least favourite is definitely Ghost Dog, because that the closest Jarmusch ever got to Hollywood conventions.

http://landundstadt.blogspot.com/

[–] gorgsharpy 13 years ago

You guys are missing the plot. Entirely. Or it is not a real plot to you, maybe.

He is the drifter than cannot love, cannot settle. She can love. The music metaphor is that no matter how much you run, you never can settle, when you are restless. Doomed. I like the beauty of him meeting his reflected image from France in the last scene. Two lonely people, lost in the space they exchange, so to say.

The scene where he visits his mother shows he cannot connect emotionally. He walks away after two seconds.

And I could go on.

It's so much a classic Jarmusch theme, used endlessly, e.g. in Broken Flowers, could be the same guy.

He is existentialistically (wow, long word) bankrupt. And then again, the ambiguity, he is aware of his own nature, that he must drift, and it's really a choice he makes, so who can judge him. Just like in Broken Flowers.

[–] markamuss 13 years ago

I liked this movie. it's about a kid coming from a broken family and the effects it has on him as a young man. the fact that his father abandoned him, and his mom is in a mental asylum completely explains his outlook and behavior. i thought this film did a great job of expressing that.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] filmbuff1974 13 years ago

Yeah, I have to agree. I thought the short length would be an easy watch, but it was far too evident that watching "Permanent Vacation" was going to take effort to sit through. I respect the cult status that Jim Jarmusch has achieved with his movies but I have to be fair to myself, this movie was pretty dull viewing.

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