Jim Jarmusch facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jim Jarmusch
Jarmusch at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival
Born	(1953-01-22) January 22, 1953 (age 72) Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, U.S.
Education	Northwestern University Columbia University (BA) New York University (MFA)
Occupation	Filmmaker actor composer writer
Years active	1979–present
Partner(s)	Sara Driver

James Robert Jarmusch (born January 22, 1953) is an American film director, writer, and musician. He is a famous figure in independent cinema, which means he makes movies outside of the big Hollywood studio system.

Since the 1980s, Jarmusch has directed many well-known films. These include Stranger Than Paradise (1984), Down by Law (1986), Dead Man (1995), and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999). He also directed Coffee and Cigarettes (2003), Broken Flowers (2005), and Paterson (2016). His film Stranger Than Paradise was so important that it was added to the U.S. National Film Registry. Besides making movies, Jarmusch is also a musician who has composed music for his films and released several albums.

Early Life and Education

Jim Jarmusch was born in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. His mother was a film and theater reviewer for the Akron Beacon Journal, and she introduced him to movies at a young age. She would often leave him at the local movie theater to watch double features, like Attack of the Crab Monsters. This early experience with movies, especially darker and more unusual ones, made a big impression on him.

As a teenager, Jarmusch loved literature and was an avid reader. He was also interested in counterculture, discovering music and books by artists like William Burroughs and The Mothers of Invention. He knew from a young age that he wanted to leave his hometown in Ohio.

After high school, Jarmusch moved to Chicago to study journalism at Northwestern University. However, he was more interested in literature and art, so he transferred to Columbia University in New York City to become a poet. During his time at Columbia, he spent ten months in Paris, where he visited the Cinémathèque Française, a famous film archive. There, he watched movies from all over the world, which inspired him to become a filmmaker.

After graduating from Columbia in 1975, Jarmusch decided to go to film school at New York University (NYU). At NYU, he met other students who would later become his collaborators, including Sara Driver and Spike Lee. He also worked as an assistant for the famous director Nicholas Ray, which was a very important experience for him.

Filmmaking Career

Starting in the 1980s

Jarmusch's first feature film was Permanent Vacation (1980). He made it for his final project at NYU on a very small budget. The film follows a young man wandering around downtown Manhattan. It showed many of the themes and styles that would appear in his later work, like city settings and a quiet, thoughtful mood.

His big breakthrough came with Stranger Than Paradise in 1984. This black-and-white comedy tells the story of three young people on a strange road trip. The film was a huge success at film festivals, winning the Camera d'Or at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival. It became a classic of modern independent film.

In 1986, he directed Down by Law, starring musician Tom Waits and Italian actor Roberto Benigni. The film is about three convicts who escape from a jail in New Orleans. His next films, Mystery Train (1989) and Night on Earth (1991), experimented with telling multiple stories at once. Mystery Train shows three different stories happening on the same night in a Memphis hotel, while Night on Earth follows five taxi drivers and their passengers in different cities around the world.

Films of the 1990s

Johnny Depp (left) with Jarmusch at the Cannes Film Festival in 1995

In 1995, Jarmusch released Dead Man, a film set in the 19th-century American West starring Johnny Depp. This movie was different from his earlier work. It was more serious and had a surreal, dreamlike quality. The film was shot in black and white and featured a musical score by rock legend Neil Young. While some American critics didn't like it at first, Dead Man is now considered a masterpiece by many.

His next major film was Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999). It stars Forest Whitaker as a hitman in Jersey City who lives by the ancient code of the samurai. The film's soundtrack was created by RZA from the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan. Ghost Dog was praised for its unique mix of crime, philosophy, and music.

Working in the 2000s

After a five-year break, Jarmusch released Coffee and Cigarettes in 2004. This film is a collection of eleven short scenes that he had filmed over 20 years. Each scene shows different characters talking while drinking coffee and smoking. The film features many famous actors and musicians, including Bill Murray, Iggy Pop, and Tom Waits.

In 2005, he directed Broken Flowers, starring Bill Murray as a man who goes on a road trip to find the mother of a son he never knew he had. The film was a big success and won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. His next film, The Limits of Control (2009), was a quiet, mysterious movie about an assassin on a secret mission in Spain.

Recent Films (2010s)

Adam Driver, Golshifteh Farahani, and Jarmusch at the premiere of Paterson (2016) at the Cannes Film Festival

In 2013, Jarmusch released Only Lovers Left Alive, a vampire film starring Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston. It took him seven years to get the money to make the movie because it was so unusual. The film was praised for its cool style and romantic story.

He followed that with Paterson in 2016, starring Adam Driver. The film is about a bus driver and poet in Paterson, New Jersey. It's a quiet and gentle movie that celebrates the beauty of everyday life and poetry. Critics loved its minimalist style and heartfelt story.

In 2019, Jarmusch directed a zombie comedy called The Dead Don't Die. The movie featured a large cast of famous actors, including Bill Murray, Adam Driver, and Selena Gomez.

Music Career

Music has always been a big part of Jarmusch's life and work. In the early 1980s, he was in a band called The Del-Byzanteens. He has also composed music for some of his own films.

He has released several albums with the Dutch lute player Jozef van Wissem. They also worked together on the soundtrack for Only Lovers Left Alive. Jarmusch is also a member of a rock band called Sqürl. The band created music for his films The Limits of Control and Paterson. In 2023, Sqürl released its first full album, Silver Haze.

Style and Themes

Jarmusch at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival

Jarmusch is known as a minimalist filmmaker. His movies are often slow-paced and focus more on characters and mood than on a fast-moving plot. He likes to show life in a realistic way, with long, quiet scenes. His films often have a deadpan sense of humor, which means the jokes are delivered in a very serious and straight-faced way.

A common theme in his movies is the meeting of different cultures. His films often feature foreign actors and characters who are outsiders or travelers. He is interested in how people from different backgrounds connect with each other. Music is also a central theme, and many famous musicians have acted in his films or contributed to his soundtracks.

Personal Life

Jarmusch at punk club CBGB in New York City in November 2003

Jim Jarmusch is a private person and does not often talk about his personal life. He lives in New York City and the Catskill Mountains. He has been a vegetarian since 1987.

Jarmusch is also a founding member of a fun, "semi-secret society" called The Sons of Lee Marvin. The group is made up of artists who look a bit like the actor Lee Marvin.

Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Jim Jarmusch para niños

• No Wave Cinema