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A few more of my favorites...
Leningrad Cowboys Go America (1989)
Aki Kaurismäki's international breakthrough, kind of a mix between The Blues Brothers, This Is Spinal Tap and Stroszek by way of Jim Jarmusch (Jarmusch has a cameo as the NYC used car salesman), this weird and wonderful story of a misfit band making its way across America is a hoot, played to deadpan perfection by the Finnish Kaurismäki and his cast of aerodynamically coifed, elfen-booted, sunglass-wearing stonefaced musicians and their relentlessly cruel manager (Matti Pellonpää). Huge laughs from things as simple as a bag of onions and a backseat full of beer cans, and the music is fun too.
Scarecrow (1973)
A pair if drifters meet on the road in the middle of nowhere and throw in together. Max (Gene Hackman) is a tough man with a temper as likely to pick a fight as to breathe who is always falling in and out of jail, and Francis (Al Pacino) has just gotten out of the Merchant Marines but is a gentle soul who'd rather leave 'em laughing than bleeding. As they travel through the middle of America they form some kind of friendship and Max decides to let Francis in on his dream to open up a car wash in Pittsburgh. Ups and downs along the road, and a stop in Detroit to find Francis' wife and kid reveals which is the truly broken man.
The Music of Chance (1993)
Very good and faithful adaptation of Paul Auster's novel of the same name, not a whole lot of traveling in this one but only because the road kind of dead ends into a prison of fate. Jim Nashe (Mandy Patinkin) is peacefully driving the backroads when he comes upon a beaten man stumbling on the shoulder. The man is Jack Pozzi (James Spader), a professional gambler by trade, who tells a tale of a game gone wrong which has left him broke and bloody. The bloody part he'll get over, but the broke part is unfortunate as he was headed toward another private game that he feels is a sure thing, easy money. Nashe has a sad backstory, but what it comes down to is he's almost out of cash and is willing to give the few thousand he has left as Jack's stake in the game, splitting the profits 50/50. Only there's no such thing as a sure thing and the two men find themselves in an odd situation forced to work off their debt. Really unusual flick, very well done by all involved.
Leningrad Cowboys Go America (1989)
Aki Kaurismäki's international breakthrough, kind of a mix between The Blues Brothers, This Is Spinal Tap and Stroszek by way of Jim Jarmusch (Jarmusch has a cameo as the NYC used car salesman), this weird and wonderful story of a misfit band making its way across America is a hoot, played to deadpan perfection by the Finnish Kaurismäki and his cast of aerodynamically coifed, elfen-booted, sunglass-wearing stonefaced musicians and their relentlessly cruel manager (Matti Pellonpää). Huge laughs from things as simple as a bag of onions and a backseat full of beer cans, and the music is fun too.
Scarecrow (1973)
A pair if drifters meet on the road in the middle of nowhere and throw in together. Max (Gene Hackman) is a tough man with a temper as likely to pick a fight as to breathe who is always falling in and out of jail, and Francis (Al Pacino) has just gotten out of the Merchant Marines but is a gentle soul who'd rather leave 'em laughing than bleeding. As they travel through the middle of America they form some kind of friendship and Max decides to let Francis in on his dream to open up a car wash in Pittsburgh. Ups and downs along the road, and a stop in Detroit to find Francis' wife and kid reveals which is the truly broken man.
The Music of Chance (1993)
Very good and faithful adaptation of Paul Auster's novel of the same name, not a whole lot of traveling in this one but only because the road kind of dead ends into a prison of fate. Jim Nashe (Mandy Patinkin) is peacefully driving the backroads when he comes upon a beaten man stumbling on the shoulder. The man is Jack Pozzi (James Spader), a professional gambler by trade, who tells a tale of a game gone wrong which has left him broke and bloody. The bloody part he'll get over, but the broke part is unfortunate as he was headed toward another private game that he feels is a sure thing, easy money. Nashe has a sad backstory, but what it comes down to is he's almost out of cash and is willing to give the few thousand he has left as Jack's stake in the game, splitting the profits 50/50. Only there's no such thing as a sure thing and the two men find themselves in an odd situation forced to work off their debt. Really unusual flick, very well done by all involved.
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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra
"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra
