After consistently running into Forest Whitaker while working on the Disney lot, and after finding this inspirational quote from filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, I decided it was high time I watch “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.”
Whitaker stars as the title character, a hitman living in modern day Jersey City who follows the code of the samurai. Dubbed ‘Ghost Dog,’ Whitaker works for the mafia as a means of repaying a life debt to one of their integral members. On paper, this may sound like a mindless genre film, but of course that is never the case with a filmmaker like Jarmusch.
The indie auteur is primarily focused on exploring the lifestyle of his protagonist rather than delivering exciting action sequences. Several scenes of the film merely show Whitaker meditating, training and reciting his world philosophy. He recounts passages from the Hagakure, a Japanese book devoted to living the life of a warrior and a guide which Ghost Dog strictly adheres to. While the film does indulge a few expected action sequences, they too are far more concerned with displaying the fruits of Ghost Dog’s training and the not the mere thrill of the kill.
Jarmusch also cleverly inserts several moments in the movie where characters are seen watching cartoons that thematically mirror scenes in the film. The cartoons remove any pretentious notions of self-seriousness, making Jarmusch’s genre indulgences far less jarring and fitting with the tone of the film.
Complimenting this enjoyable package is the soundtrack. Composed and performed entirely by the RZA, the act of bobbing your head while watching “Ghost Dog” becomes utterly inevitable.
This revisionist Western by Jarmusch unfolds in a series of vignettes that weave a mesmerizing dreamlike atmosphere. Accompanied by a haunting guitar score performed by Neil Young, “Dead Man” finds poetic rhythm in the way it unravels. Read this interview with the writer/director.
