Down by Law

The Brief

Down By Law was the second feature film by American indie king Jim Jarmusch and marked his breakthrough with a wider audience. It’s films like this that made being an indie filmmaker in America suddenly seem perfectly acceptable. This neo-beat-noir comedy is defined primarily by three things: 1. The exquisite black-and-white cinematography by Robby Müller 2. The chemistry between the actors 3. The perfectly understated, Zen-inspired humor The actors are a delight for both eyes and ears. John Lurie and Tom Waits, as Zack and Jack, are respectively a tough, ignorant pimp and a former DJ with broken records and a broken heart. Both have more or less undeservedly ended up in prison and are forced to share a cell. So far, it’s neo-beat-noir. The humor stumbles in with the Italian Roberto Benigni. From here on, it’s beat-comedy all the way. It’s not giving too much away to say that the three inmates manage to escape, only to find themselves in a new no-man’s-land outside the walls. Good to know: * Age limit: 15+ * Screening format: 35mm * Aspect ratio: 1.85:1