FILM REVIEW: Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)

Part of the Jim Jarmusch ‘All About the Masters’ Series

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Gangsters. Hip-hop. Samurai. Mean streets. Meditation. Only a filmmaker like Jim Jarmusch could blend these elements together, and perhaps only Jarmusch could blend them and make them work. This is exactly what he did in 1999, with the release of Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. While the film may not be a total success due to its slow pace and a few missed opportunities, the film still stands strong, carried along by a powerhouse performance from leading man Forest Whitaker.

Mobster Louie (John Tormey) is summoned by his superiors – one of their own has been whacked, and Louie has the dirt on the killer. That killer is only known as Ghost Dog (Forest Whitaker), a contract killer with a perfect record who only communicates via pigeon-carried messages. He is an enigma of a man, quiet, reserved, and humble, no doubt accredited to his choice of lifestyle: Ghost Dog lives strictly by the code of the samurai, as outlined in the samurai guidebook Hagakure. Now, the mob is out for Ghost Dog’s blood, but Ghost Dog’s not going down without a fight…but does retaliation against his opponents conflict from the code of the samurai?

Just as meditation is essential to the way of the samurai, a meditative quality perpetuates throughout Ghost Dog. Unsurprising, considering this is a Jarmusch’s love for the mundane and everyday. Peppered throughout the meditative Ghost Dog are parables from Hagakure narrated by Whitaker. These moments never fail to leave the viewer’s mind inert, but I’d be lying if Ghost Dog’s meditativeness didn’t overstay its welcome. Even after taking advantage of the film’s numerous opportunities to think about said parables and applying them into the film, these very scenes go on and on, dragging the film’s pace down a few notches – if you ask me, Ghost Dog did not need to be two hours whatsoever.

There is a line that Ghost Dog walks very riskily but never crosses: I find myself wondering if Ghost Dog should even be the protagonist of the film. That may sound strange, considering the movie is named after him, but he is such a uniquely enigmatic and alluring character, much of which is due to his mysterious nature. Is making him the primary focus of the movie weakening his allure? I find myself conflicted in my opinion on that. Granted, I loved spending time with Ghost Dog, but I feel that the character would have made a much stronger impression if he was kept chilling in the shadows. This isn’t so much a criticism as much as it is a possibly missed opportunity. Perhaps some of those slower scenes that I criticized could be replaced with more exploits from the hilarious gangsters, who I can confidently say don’t get as much screen time as they should.

Ghost Dog may stumble from time to time, but it is far, far from a bad movie (or a mediocre one, at that). The strongest element of the film is undoubtedly Forest Whitaker, in what might be his best performance (definitely my favorite of his). He is perfectly in tune with the material at hand, trucking along with a humble swagger that you can get only from a Jarmusch film. The gangsters also deserve a mention, hilarious in their reprisal of comical B-grade gangsters, but never overdoing it.

The film’s writing is a mixed bag for me. Though the Hagakure excerpts throughout are great food for thought, those are the words of Yamamoto Tsumetoto’s, not Jarmusch. Much of the dialogue is fairly bland, with a few highlights here and there, most notably a scene when Louie is describing the unusual nature of Ghost Dog to his superiors, and the hilarious confusion that follows. But my favorite moments involve Ghost Dog’s interaction with his best friend Raymond (Isaach De Bankole), a French ice cream truck driver who speaks practically no English. In turn are Ghost Dog’s chats about books with a young girl named Pearline (Camille Winbush). In spite of the writing’s blandness throughout the majority of the movie, these moments are rich with material, and are undoubtedly some of the most memorable scenes in Ghost Dog.

Topping off the best elements of Ghost Dog is a terrific score by Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA, which blends chill hip-hop beats serenaded with familiar elements of ancient Japanese music.   

It’s difficult to make a truly great film with all of the pulpy and exotic elements used in Ghost Dog – not impossible, but difficult. But for what it’s worth, Ghost Dog is still deserving a watch. Yeah, it’s a slog from time to time, but not only is it still Jarmusch, but it’s Jarmusch experimenting with very unique and singular territory that nobody else is treading into, and not once is he annoyingly overdoing it, contrary to other films and filmmakers who blend styles in such a manner. Make no mistake, though: Ghost Dog is indeed a Jarmusch film, and the fact that he can achieve all of this while still maintaining his unique brand of filmmaking is truly a feat unto itself.