Forest Whitaker Follows The Samurai Code
Ghost Dog: The Way Of the Samurai directed by Jim Jarmusch, acclaimed director of Dead Man, Down by Law and Mystery Train. ★★★★★
When Ghost Dog premiered at Cannes in 1999, it was nominated for the elusive Palme D’or. Ghost Dog received a great reception, world renowned for its unique story and characters. Jarmusch, known for his idiosyncratic personality, makes the film perfect, making the experience a through and through Jarmusch flick just like all his films. The film follows Ghost Dog played by Forest Whitaker in one of his best performances to date. Ghost Dog is basically about; An African-American mob hitman who models himself after the samurai of old.
Wielding a pistol, cruising down the shady streets of an unknown city and blaring RZA, Ghost Dog is not your normal “samurai”.
Ghost Dog (Forest Whitaker), a hitman who follows bushido and codes of the samurai finds himself hunted by the mob in the local area due to a hit gone wrong. Ghost Dog is loyal to one of those gangsters, Louie played by John Tormey who saved Ghost Dog’s life years before. The local mob are puzzled when Louie has to tell them about Ghost Dog, the mob know his build, colour and how he only communicates with Louie via messenger pigeon. Ghost Dog’s best friend is Raymond, a french speaking ice cream man played by Isaach De Bankolé, another one of Ghost Dog’s friends is a young girl called Pearline who borrowed and talks to Ghost Dog about books like Rashomon. Ghost Dog is definitely the best part about the film with Forest Whitaker portraying the character perfectly.
The Code Of The Samurai and Ghost Dog:
Ghost Dog follows the code of the samurai with this reflected in the film as he recites quotes and sayings from the Hagakure written by Yamamoto Tsunetomo. Ghost Dog adheres and applies wisdom from the Hagakure into the way he is, this being reflected in his loyalty to Louie as he saved Ghost Dog. Ghost Dog is part crime, samurai, hip hop, mob flick with a sprinkle of philosophy coming from the quotes and sayings which Ghost Dog recites as the quotes come on the screen for the viewer to read as he is at the same time. The movie itself is extremely unique however the most subtle and important part of the film is Ghost Dog’s loyalty, Ghost Dog says he is Louie’s retainer deriving from the codes of the samurai. Ghost Dog who is well known by the other people in his community and is known by most and his relationship with Raymond shows us that respect, honour and status are just not found in mob films but are in everyday life, regardless of identity.
Ghost Dog is a perfect example of cinema at its finest. The acting in Ghost Dog is greatly performed by all actors even with it being a more subtle part of the film with this ensemble led by the great Forest Whitaker. Although unique, Jim Jarmusch perfection of the script and directing is what brings it all together. The cinematography of Ghost Dog, although simple and minimalistic, is great, really adhering to the setting of the film, which really helps create the scenes as a whole. The directing of Ghost Dog is perfect, just the way Jarmusch puts such a unique and idiosyncratic story full of intriguing characters which just contributes to how good the film really is. What can I say, Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai is the epitome of cinema at it’s best and this remains to be Jim Jarmusch’s best and finest film yet. My favourite of all time. I give this 5 stars!