A young man wanders New York City searching for some meaning in life and encounters many idiosyncratic characters.A young man wanders New York City searching for some meaning in life and encounters many idiosyncratic characters.A young man wanders New York City searching for some meaning in life and encounters many idiosyncratic characters.
- Awards
- 1 win
María Duval
- Latin Girl
- (as Maria Duval)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJean Michel Basquiat was present while they were shooting the scenes in the apartment, sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag.
- GoofsWhen Allie reads to Leila from the book, he does not read continuously but instead takes snippets from the text, skipping sentences as he does.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The King of Comedy (1982)
- SoundtracksUp There in Orbit
Written and Performed by Earl Bostic
Featured review
Permanent ennui
Let's not put too much lipstick on this pig. Permanent Vacation ... cool title, memorable lead, nice style and all that, but ultimately an often boring movie. The only thing that keeps this above the water is the simple fact that director Jim Jarmusch followed it up with some of the best movies of all time. So it's cool to see him blunder his way through his first oeuvre.
The fact that our hero Allie is disenfranchised because his mother is in a mental institution might constitute the oldest plot device in the book. There is really no development, no suspense, nothing intriguing. Jarmusch commits the classic mistake of every first-time filmmaker; he has yet to learn that it's not enough to put a crass character before the camera. You have to make the viewer care about him. And unfortunately you can't do that by boring the crap out of the viewer. Allie is a high-strung, messed-up kid who could franchise disenfranchisement if only he could be bothered. He has a girlfriend that should rightfully be mine, who gets a kick out of dating a pretentious freeloader with a croaky voice. He meets a bunch of strange people, nicks a car, then gets the feck out on a boat. Cue amazing end sequence shot on a boat going away from Manhattan but looking back at it.
Check it out if you're a spotty movie boffin with no social life.
Give it a miss if you're more into Hannah Montana.
The fact that our hero Allie is disenfranchised because his mother is in a mental institution might constitute the oldest plot device in the book. There is really no development, no suspense, nothing intriguing. Jarmusch commits the classic mistake of every first-time filmmaker; he has yet to learn that it's not enough to put a crass character before the camera. You have to make the viewer care about him. And unfortunately you can't do that by boring the crap out of the viewer. Allie is a high-strung, messed-up kid who could franchise disenfranchisement if only he could be bothered. He has a girlfriend that should rightfully be mine, who gets a kick out of dating a pretentious freeloader with a croaky voice. He meets a bunch of strange people, nicks a car, then gets the feck out on a boat. Cue amazing end sequence shot on a boat going away from Manhattan but looking back at it.
Check it out if you're a spotty movie boffin with no social life.
Give it a miss if you're more into Hannah Montana.
helpful•1215
- Karl Self
- Jun 16, 2009
- How long is Permanent Vacation?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Dauernd Ferien
- Filming locations
- Roosevelt Island, New York, USA(Bombed house where Allie was born)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $12,000 (estimated)
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