Ghost Dog (1999)
Cast: Forest Whitaker, Henry Silva, John Tormey
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Country: France | Germany | USA | Japan
Genre: Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller
Official Site: Here
Editor’s Notes: The following review is part of our coverage for TIFF’s Strange Paradise: The Cinema of Jim Jarmusch. For more information on upcoming TIFF film series visit http://tiff.net and follow TIFF on Twitter at @TIFF_NET.
His name is Ghost Dog. He lives on a rooftop in Jersey City, surrounded by the carrier pigeons he uses to communicate with the mafia. Working as a hit man, he lives his life according to Yamamoto Tsunetomo’s Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai. His best friend is a Haitian ice cream vendor who only speaks French. On occasion, he talks with a young girl about books. He lives his life by the code of the samurai and is prepared to die by it should the occasion arise.
The Jersey City of Ghost Dog is a place full of characters that are larger than life, where terrifying danger, beautiful humanity and life affirming humor all simultaneously exist around every corner.
In lesser hands, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai would be too odd a premise to even come close to succeeding as a feature-length film, but writer/director Jim Jarmusch’s singular vision is an involving tale that creates a surprising amount of investment and emotional payoff. The Jersey City of Ghost Dog is a place full of characters that are larger than life, where terrifying danger, beautiful humanity and life affirming humor all simultaneously exist around every corner. At center of the story is Ghost Dog himself. This is a movie that lives and dies on its lead performance, and the great Forrest Whitaker knocks it out of the park here.
Jarmusch reportedly wrote the role of Ghost Dog specifically for Forest Whitaker and wouldn’t have made the movie with anyone else. After seeing the completed work, it is in fact very hard to imagine anyone else in the title role. Whitaker exudes the perfect mix of charm and pure badass, more often than not completely vanishing into his role as the reserved warrior. The supporting cast is magnificent as well, particularly John Tormey as Louie, Ghost Dog’s master who is now tasked with hunting down and killing the man he once saved. Some of the film’s best moments feature Isaach De Bankole as Raymond the Haitian ice cream vendor. The two can’t communicate in the same language, but understand each other completely despite this. There’s an unspeakable beauty to it. In fact, the film perhaps shines the brightest when it has its characters interact with each other, be they little girls with books for Ghost Dog to borrow or Ghost Dog telling his master how he could never mean any disrespect.
Jarmusch’s style is another real star of the film. The soundtrack by RZA might sound like it would be something that is out of place, but it fits perfectly with the film’s blend of Western and Eastern culture.
Jarmusch’s style is another real star of the film. The soundtrack by RZA might sound like it would be something that is out of place, but it fits perfectly with the film’s blend of Western and Eastern culture. There’s an otherworldly feel to the film, amplified by the film’s use of cartoons that both foreshadow and echo the events in the film. This is a strange film, but the world it inhabits is so convincing and tangible that we don’t question it for a moment.
There’s really no understating the fact that Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is a work so unique and singular it begs viewing by any appreciator of cinema. A fascinating and involving blend of Western and Eastern ideals and storytelling methods, Ghost Dog is a movie that captivates the mind and the heart throughout its entire running time and lingers in your mind long after the credits have ended.
In lesser hands, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai would be too odd a premise to even come close to succeeding as a feature-length film, but writer/director Jim Jarmusch’s singular vision is an involving tale that creates a surprising amount of investment and emotional payoff.
