Down By Law (1986)

A DJ, a pimp and an Italian tourist get sent to a Louisiana prison. Sounds like the beginning to a bad joke? It's the plot to one of the best films of the 1980's. Down by Law is pure, classic Jarmusch. He creates the perfect unlikely trio, who by chance need to stick together to get as far away from prison as possible. Roberto Benigni is the standout here. He plays the hapless, optimistic foreigner, and as always, he's a riot. When he finds a beautiful Italian woman, and her trattoria, in the middle of the Louisiana swamp, I couldn't stop smiling.