Permanent Vacation (1980)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Anthony L

  
  Not to be mistaken with W. Scott Peake's 2007 film (which flixster seem to have done judging by the description, doh!). Jim Jarmusch's first feature film is both very amateur and very mature, although looking through Jarmusch's other films, maybe it's not as… More
  Not to be mistaken with W. Scott Peake's 2007 film (which flixster seem to have done judging by the description, doh!). Jim Jarmusch's first feature film is both very amateur and very mature, although looking through Jarmusch's other films, maybe it's not as amateur as looks and maybe intentionally so. This film only has three elements to it as far as I could see. New York, Chris Parker and the script. All three are brilliant. New York looks dirty and lonely but big and magnificent, Chris Parker is completely believable as the young man looking for the answers and the script (was it scripted?), is pure Jarmusch. Bleak, thought-provoking and too cool for school. The film's title is taken from a lyric in the song "My Boyfriend's Back", by The Angels; "If I were you, I'd take a permanent vacation" which reminds me, the music was amazing too!

• Chris W

  
  Good God was this a hard film to sit through. Conceptually, it's a good idea (a kooky dude aimlessly wandering around the dingier parts of lower Manhattan interacting with people as nutty as himself) in small doses or fragments, but to have the whole film be nothing but… More
  Good God was this a hard film to sit through. Conceptually, it's a good idea (a kooky dude aimlessly wandering around the dingier parts of lower Manhattan interacting with people as nutty as himself) in small doses or fragments, but to have the whole film be nothing but that...damn. Stranger Than Paradise had no real plot, but at least had some semblance of a structure. This is totally plotless and free form. I probably would have liked this more had I viewewed it in an altered state of mind. To put things in perspective though, it was made 100% on the cheap, is the essence of independent cinema, and was Jarmusch's first film, so some of this is forgiveable. It pretty much an intriguing student film that shows signs of creativity, even if things aren't completely there yet. This work heavily forshadows the future of Jarmusch's career, but I won't recommend this as a starting place for people wanting to get into his work. This is definitely for hardcore fans only.

• Eric B

  
  One thing's for sure: Writer-director Jim Jarmusch relished long silences and deathly slow pacing from the start. "Permanent Vacation," his no-budget debut, lasts a mere 75 minutes but feels more like 175. There is no tangible plot -- only a ducktailed drifter named… More
  One thing's for sure: Writer-director Jim Jarmusch relished long silences and deathly slow pacing from the start. "Permanent Vacation," his no-budget debut, lasts a mere 75 minutes but feels more like 175. There is no tangible plot -- only a ducktailed drifter named Allie (Chris Parker) who wanders around seedy New York, having light encounters with various subculture characters. Recurrent Jarmusch collaborators Sara Driver and John Lurie are among the cast, and Lurie also wrote the score. "Stranger than Paradise" fans (hopefully, this includes everyone?) will notice the two films have similar endings. "Permanent Vacation" is much more of an endurance test, however. Parker dominates the screen time yet, unfortunately, he may be the film's least interesting actor. His prime handicap is a thin, whiny voice that would quickly turn unbearable if not for him having so few lines. Really, the film's most notable aspect may be its sound. The score is dominated by odd, droning lines that sound like church bells ringing underwater, and low-flying planes and ambient noise often obscure the dialogue. The mix's chance imperfections are almost avant-garde.

• Robert F

  
  Jarmusch's first film doesn't possess the charm of his later ones, but his freewheeling episodic approach to storytelling is already evident.