Saw Stranger Than Paradise, a Jim Jarmusch film about trio of kids. A Hungarian guy, his pretty and incredibly self-possessed cousin, and his friend who has a kind of crush on the cousin. They hang out in various locations and hatch schemes to make money. The film is almost perverse in the un-exciting-ness of its storytelling. They plan to go the racetrack, but we don't see their adventures there. Rather, we stay with the cousin who is left behind in the hotel. Eventually we see the fallout of the racetrack adventure, but not before we get to really feel the lolling indolent boredom of the stranded cousin.
Shot on a shoestring, talky but listless, this film feels like the immediate ancestor of the mumble-core films. It's very arch and deadpan, like a cool kid in high school. This film comes from a list of "hipster" movies but I think this one is the first film to really nail that "hip" feel of listlessness and disaffection. Unfortunately, the film is very low-key and your enjoyment of it depends very much on how inaccessible and dry you like your entertainment. This film is dry like a wine, bitter but subtle and complex. Also like wine, enough will make you feel sleepy.
As an aside, I was very entertained by the Hungarian dude's Hungarian aunt who furiously speaks in rapid Hungarian and industriously feeds them soup. Having Hungarian grandparents myself, I was able to make out a word here or there and it made me happy.
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