If you go in expecting a coherent story line or some connecting thread among the five vignettes presented, you'll probably be disappointed. What I got out of the picture was the sense that throughout the world, people of different backgrounds and nationalities are all subject to similar kinds of human frailties and foibles, no matter if one lives in Los Angeles, Paris or Helsinki. The other two cities rounding out this peek around-the-world at a particular point in time are Rome and New York City. Some of the situations are rather bizarre, but to my mind, the most hilarious character in the picture was portrayed by Roberto Benigni as the cab driver in Rome. In a moment of reflection, he decides he must tell his confession to a priest who becomes his fare, and proceeds to drive the man into an unintended heart attack when he loses control of his medication. Perhaps the most poignant story is the last one in which a cabbie takes on three inebriated passengers and winds up relating a personal story that adds an unexpected perspective to their own unfortunate circumstances. All five of the unrelated tales have a way of making one think about how it would feel to walk in someone else's shoes, and perhaps, just how fortunate one is compared to the problems of the next person.

Roger Ebert in his review for Jim Jarmusch's 'Night on Earth' called Jarmusch a 'poet of the night'. This is such a fitting description of Jarmusch's storytelling in not only this particular film, but also in certain parts of another Jarmusch film that I love, 'Mystery Train'. Jarmusch is interested in the random people that walk/drive in the streets at night. 'Night on Earth' is an anthology film about various characters from various cities in the world connected by the fact that they either drive/board a taxi on this particular night on earth.At the start of each vignette/episode, we get the same shot of various clocks on a wall showing the time in the different cities that the film covers and the camera zooms into the appropriate clock showing the time for the city that appears in the respective episode. Jarmusch uses some establishing shots to introduce us to each of these cities. But the interesting thing is avoids using too many shots of well known and famous locations and monuments and focuses more on the mundane and decrepit locations. This actually connects all the cities together. Of course while looking at these exterior shots of these individual cities, one can find the individuality and uniqueness of every city, but at the same time, it is noticeable how Jarmusch is deliberately attempting to make some of these shots resemble each other and thereby forge a thematic connection. Jarmusch treatment of the various colourful characters in the film is also similar. The characters come from various backgrounds with numerous unique features, sensibilities and characteristics. Jarmusch actually uses these contrasts for comedic effect during these extended conversations in the taxicabs. But Jarmusch's tender lightness of touch in terms of storytelling, the solid acting by each member of the ensemble, the relatable dialogue and the overall spirit of humanism trickling down from one episode to the next connects all of the episodes as well as the characters together. The shot with which the film ends is absolutely heartbreaking since we can easily put ourselves in the featured character's shoes and understand his hopeless situation. It's a shot that underlines one of the primary themes of the film which is human beings struggling with their mundane lonely existence. This night offered all these aimless souls an opportunity to talk to a stranger and share their fears and apprehensions. But as the sun rises again and a new day begins, the struggle starts again.Yes, the film in a few moments did flirt with the danger of being a bit too on-the-nose with its themes and the use of contrasting background and life situations of the clashing characters, but if it can make me stay captivated and engrossed by using nothing but random conversations between random characters and make me care about them so much and contemplate how their individual lives will pan out after we leave them in their respective episodes, the minor reservations become negligible. This is truly special film and is now right up there alongside 'Down by Law' and 'Mystery Train' as one of my favourite Jim Jarmusch films. Highly Recommended.

I feel safest at nighttime, not on the streets but in the sheets, cemented to my bed with my laptop by my side. These summer nights seem to beg me to stay up until the earliest hours of the morning, and it's hard not to comply — at two pm, there's nothing in the world stopping a friend from asking you for a favor, a grandma inviting you to move furniture for an estate sale, a parent demanding you mow both lawns, take out the garbage, and clean your bathroom. But at two am, every one of those people is asleep: nobody expects anything from you, and, for once, the stresses of reality cease because no one else is throwing them in your face. Nighttime is a period of spooky solitude, elusively appealing."Night on Earth" divides itself into five vignettes, all set during these wee hours, all involving the relationship between a taxi driver and their temporary client, all in a different city. Directed by Jim Jarmusch, one might expect a deadpan drama of steeping revelations and scintillating conversations, in the way "Broken Flowers" could make even the most awkward of an exchange blossom with black hilarity. But "Night on Earth" is wildly uneven, some of the segments mostly involving, others splendidly acted but unsuccessful in their rendering. I've always felt that a movie comprised of short films should be so arresting in each segment that it wouldn't be unheard of to pine for a longer, feature adaptation. But even in its best moments, "Night on Earth" is slight, some performers more pleasing than others — a difficulty when some segments are damaged by particular characters.The first vignette, set in Los Angeles, stars Winona Ryder as the cab driver, Corky, Gena Rowlands as the passenger, Victoria. Corky, young and spunky, chain smokes, chews bubblegum, and figures that her dream career is that of a mechanic; Victoria, middle-aged, welcoming, and refined, is a casting agent looking for fresh talent. She sees a spark in Corky, figuring her rough-and-tumble attitude could be assembled into a rebellious, cool product headed toward stardom. This segment, though dampened by Ryder's unconvincing portrayal of a grungy youth with small dreams, makes an impression thanks to the always lovely Rowlands, who makes what could be an unlikable character affectionate, motherly even.The second, stationed in New York and headed by Armin Mueller-Stahl, Giancarlo Esposito, and Rosie Perez, is the second most annoying of the segments: driver Stahl, a German immigrant, hardly knows how to drive, so his customer Esposito takes over the wheel and loudmouths his way through awkward silences. Midway through the trip, the two pick up the shrill Perez, who happens to be Esposito's sister-in-law. The vignette could be enjoyable, with Stahl sweetening the atmosphere as a gentle giant, but Esposito and Perez are so obnoxious that we can hardly wait for the short to be over.The third sequence travels to Paris, by far working as the most straightforward, best written moment in the film. Here, a blind woman (Béatrice Dalle) gets a ride from an endlessly p-ssed off driver (Isaach De Bankolé) who rethinks his usual grumpiness after she gives him a run for his money: the woman, it seems, is scorned by life and completely disregards her ailment, scoffing whenever her cabbie asks an inappropriately curious question. The segment works so well because of the rapport between Dalle and Bankolé — whereas the other shorts attempt to have the characters find a mutual understanding between each other, Dalle and Bankolé's mutual curiosity/disdain bears an odd sexual tension, fascinating just enough to leave us potentially wanting more but backing off when considering just how well it works.I won't go far into the fourth sequence (set in Rome), which is jaw-droppingly irritating as comedian Roberto Benigni delivers a mile-a-minute performance as a cab driver who just won't shut up. If he's annoying to his guest then he's annoying to us as well — don't expect to want to do anything besides fast-forward as his mouth runs into oblivion, us preferring deafness to hearing any more about another one of his sexual experiences. Following the exasperation of this vignette, "Night on Earth" ends on a melancholy note as it hits the snowy streets of Helsinski, with a group of passengers complaining about how horrible their friend's day was until the driver decides to top it with a soul crushing experience himself. While I appreciate Jim Jarmusch's enviable ability to turn realism into sardonic astuteness, "Night on Earth" feels more like a filmmaking exercise than an actual film. It doesn't move — it serves as an experiment pleasing only the people involved while the audience sits and waits patiently for something moving to happen.

Jim Jarmusch's experiment is a succession of 5 "short" films, all taking place in a taxi, at night - hence the title - in various cities. If you've experienced anything like Paris, Je T'Aime or it's New York based counterpoint, then you have an idea what to expect... except you don't, not really. All the flaws are reversed.Jarmusch has a knack for absurd situations, but 2 important factors constrain him in this case: Length: 5 minutes per film might be a bit short sometimes to get anything more than a gimmick or gotcha, but 20 minutes, given the confined space, proves tiresome in most of the vignettes. There is simply too little for many of his characters to do or express given the rules Jarmusch has set himself. Cliché: not a bad thing in itself when it can be subverted a bit (and to a degree, one of the segments does this with a lot of charm), but here things become a bit too obvious. Of course, the LA segment is a bout filmmaking/acting, the Paris story about sex, and the Scandinavian one had to be about death. Mixing things up could have been more refreshing. The twist to the French one saves it a bit.The consistency of vision helps, something compilations of shorts by various filmmakers lack. But the real saving grace is the performances - with the exception of a typically overbearing Roberto Benigni - and the jewel of the collection, so to speak, that is the Paris segment with the ever- dependable Isaach De Bankolé. In fact, a whole film wit his character would have probably a better final product, though that would deprive us of the sight of Armin Mueller-Stahl and Gena Rowlands, two touching artists we see all too rarely.Worth seeing at least once.