Arg! I almost want to give this movie an 8.But the thing is, although there are interesting parts, it is also often very dull.I could see what he was going for but too often I felt that the scenes, although interesting and fun, were lacking in depth.I did enjoy it overall but it was also a little hard to sit through.This was my first Jarmusch and I am looking forward to watching more. It felt appropriate because Sunday they're screening his 2nd feature at a local theater.It did have well directed scenes, and some felt very trance-like. The main actor is not fantastic but good enough, he does show acting talent so I'm curious if I'll see him in something again.

Jim Jarmusch made this movie when he had probably 26 years old.Since my point of view there is no a specific script structure. It seems that he is starting to experiment some ideas and possibilities, like bizarre characters and locations in which the main character wanders.It appears that there is quite improvisation at all levels. Anyway, at the end i had the feeling that there is no much communication between viewer and director.I see it like an exercise in style.5/10

Let's not put too much lipstick on this pig. Permanent Vacation ... cool title, memorable lead, nice style and all that, but ultimately an often boring movie. The only thing that keeps this above the water is the simple fact that director Jim Jarmusch followed it up with some of the best movies of all time. So it's cool to see him blunder his way through his first oeuvre.The fact that our hero Allie is disenfranchised because his mother is in a mental institution might constitute the oldest plot device in the book. There is really no development, no suspense, nothing intriguing. Jarmusch commits the classic mistake of every first-time filmmaker; he has yet to learn that it's not enough to put a crass character before the camera. You have to make the viewer care about him. And unfortunately you can't do that by boring the crap out of the viewer. Allie is a high-strung, messed-up kid who could franchise disenfranchisement if only he could be bothered. He has a girlfriend that should rightfully be mine, who gets a kick out of dating a pretentious freeloader with a croaky voice. He meets a bunch of strange people, nicks a car, then gets the feck out on a boat. Cue amazing end sequence shot on a boat going away from Manhattan but looking back at it.Check it out if you're a spotty movie boffin with no social life.Give it a miss if you're more into Hannah Montana.

This film was a little hard to get through, although my jet-lag probably contributed to this. It did have that student film quality to it and the "permanent vacation" line was bad. I could have done without the poorly executed voice over, the content of which contributed to an amateurish nature. Then again, is immaturity necessarily a bad thing in movies? Perhaps in this one it perfects the depressed pretentious adolescent mood, whether intentional or not. This feeling and certain images from the film, dancing, the apartment, the girl (especially), the mother, the destroyed landscape, have stayed with me this past week ... a good sign. Not one for the impatient viewer.