Stranger than Paradise

THE NEW WORLD: Bela Molnar («Willie»), originally Hungarian, has lived in New York for the past ten years. Eva Molnar, his sixteen-year-old cousin, is just arriving in the U.S. to begin a new life and is forced to stay with Willie before travelling to Cleveland. During this period Willie's preconceptions of Eva slowly change, and it is only as she is leaving New York that Willie is able to see her in her true light: a «black sheep» of the family, similar to himself.

ONE YEAR LATER: Willie and his best friend, Eddie, are caught cheating in a poker game. On a whim, they decide to take their «winnings», borrow a car, and visit Eva who is now living with the stern and stubborn Aunt Lotte in the harsh mid-western winter. After several days, Willie and Eddie want to leave again.

PARADISE: Willie and Eddie decide to «kidnap» Eva and take her to Miami for a vacation in «Paradise». Once in Florida, the three stay in a run-down motel by the sea. From here on, things begin to fall apart: Willie and Eddie lose almost all their money at the dog races, Willie begins to treat Eva badly again, and everything seems to go wrong. Confusion builds as Eva considers returning to Europe, Willie and Eddie win their money back, and Willie attempts to get Eva off a plane departing for Budapest.

Cast

Willie
John Lurie
Eva
Eszter Balint
Eddie
Richard Edson
Tante Lotte
Cecillia Stark
Billy
Danny Rosen
Stranger than Paradise - Poster 1

Stranger than Paradise

Jim Jarmusch

  • Fiction
Production Country / Year
Language
en. OF ohne UT
Format
90min

Director & Crew

Jim Jarmusch

Born in 1953 in Akron, Ohio. Studied English and American literature at the Columbia University in New York. Film studies at the Tisch School of the Arts an der New York University. Active as a director, producer and writer.

Filmography

1982 STRANGER THAN PARADISE, Kurzfilm  HOF 1983 und 2021 1984 STRANGER THAN PARADISE, Spielfilm  HOF 1985

1986 DOWN BY LAW Spielfilm  HOF 1986  

COFFEE AND CIGARETTES, Kurzfilm

1989 COFFEE AND CIGARETTES II, Kurzfilm

1989 MYSTERY TRAIN, Spielfilm  HOF 1989

1991 NIGHT ON EARTH, Spielfilm

1995 COFFEE AND CIGARETTES III

DEAD MAN, Spielfilm  HOF 1995

1997 YEAR OF THE HORSE, Dokumentarfilm  HOF 1997

1999 GHOST DOG, Spielfilm

2003 COFFEE AND CIGARETTES, Spielfilm

2005 BROKEN FLOWERS, Spielfilm

2009 THE LIMITS OF CONTROL, Spielfilm

2013 ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE, Spielfilm

2016 PATERSON, Spielfilm HOF 2016 2019 THE DEAD DON’T DIE, Spielfilm

Writer
Jim Jarmusch
Director of Photography
Tom Dicillo
Editor
Jim Jarmusch
Melody London
Sound
Greg Curry
Drew Kunin
Music Composer
The Paradise Quartet
Executive Producer
Otto Grokenberger
Co-Producer
Christoph Holch