in term of perspective on life and these comic philosophic taxi ride may be the most uplifting scene in jarmusch oeuvre . the first of five segment ( in l. a . ) deal with winona ryder ( in a broad and self conscious performance ) a a cab driver who pick up gena rowlands and who want to put her in a movie . rowlands be subtle and complex represent she a rich bitch with a soft side and but we do not know if she the former because she a player or if she the latter because she want to use ryder . what jarmusch be go for be to contrast the social class he have an obvious and unfunny line where ryder character say she never be to the executive terminal at the airport before but what really interesting be see and since jarmusch be usually a male orient director and how he handle woman ( one a tomboy and one in a position of power ) . it obvious that the little idea of a movie about four taxi cab driver be just a thin story that give jarmusch an excuse to work with certain actor and like rowlands and whose late and great husband he adore . he go for cultural miscommunication in the new york story ( which be the film most tender and brotherly ) and the warring culture within a city and where a black man ( giancarlo esposito ) who can not land a cab fight with his puerto rican girlfriend while be badly drive around by former circus clown ( armin mueller stahl and in a goofy and charm performance ) . jarmusch make brilliant statement on race and color in the paris segment and with a sassy blind woman who aware of what her driver be think of her and who turn our expectation on their head twice and without come back to where we start . benigni and who doesn not play the clown and be nevertheless the funny in the rome ride represent he talk aloud to himself and outdoes and predates american pie by almost a decade . the final and helsinki section be the most powerful . when the cabbie try to one up the sob story by one of his three passenger and the conclusion seem to be that he win while the two conscious passenger seem to think their unconscious friend trouble be insignificant and a if they can not both be sad . positive .