Stranger than Paradise

Developed from a 30-minute short and made for a mere $120,000, this chilled-out road movie could be seen as the first slacker picture. Shot in long takes, each ending with a dawdling fade to black, the action (if that's the word) centres on Hungarian immigrant John Lurie, his cousin Eszter Balint and his mate Richard Edson and their driftings between New York, Cleveland and Florida. The winner of the Caméra d'Or at Cannes, this is a unique and irresistible film, which warned us all that the only thing to expect from Jim Jarmusch is the unexpected. Superbly shot by Tom DiCillo, who went on to direct the magnificent Living in Oblivion.