Night on Earth Love Streams

Tonight's screening showcases the sincere filmmaking of two great American independents: Jim Jarmusch and John Cassavetes.

In the brilliantly simple Night on Earth, Jarmusch presents five taxi-cab conversations between passengers and drivers in five different cities: Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Rome, and Helsinki. With Winona Ryder and Roberto Benigni. (1991; 128 mins.)

A groundbreaking advocate of "personal" filmmaking, John Cassavetes directs and costars in Love Streams with his wife Gena Rowlands (a Jarmusch favorite who appears in Night on Earth). It's a portrait of a dysfunctional Los Angeles-based sister and brother desperate for love, but unable to attain it. (1984; 141 mins.)