Permanent Vacation (1980) **1/2

Permanent Vacation (1980) serves as a decent precursor with elements of what would define Jim Jarmusch's style when he truly hit his stride, but it feels too much like a rough draft for me to really dig it. The loose, non-traditional narrative nature certainly fits Jarmusch's hip, poetic tendencies, and the cinematography is very good for a debut, but the poor sound quality, non-actors, and forced voice-over make it all feel a bit too much like a student film.

You can find my Jim Jarmusch Feature Films Ranked list here.