Ghost Dog - Der Weg des Samurai

"Ghost Dog" (Forrest Whitaker) is a hit man who lives by the code of the Samurai. He is on retainer to Louie, and has done 12 hits for the mob these past four years. Their relationship started when Louie saved Ghost Dog's life several years before, and now Ghost Dog is indebted to him, according to his code.

Louie tells Ghost Dog to kill a gangster, Handsome Frank, who is sleeping with the daughter of local mafia boss Vargo. Louie has been told that the daughter, Louise, has left the house, but she is still there when Ghost Dog does the hit. In fact, she sees the hit happen. Ghost Dog does not kill her, because the code of the Samurai is against killing noncombatants.

Now the mob says that Ghost Dog must die because of what Louise saw, and it seems they aren't too happy with Louie either. And so the war begins. There is comedy as the mob is none too bright and bungles quite a bit as they go after Ghost Dog, while Ghost Dog is a literate well read fellow who is besting them at every turn in a kind of Roadrunner/Wiley Coyote dynamic. But at the end of the day both groups are living by antiquated codes that nobody else is living by, and complications ensue as a result.

There is a deleted scene in the Criterion release that explains some things not revealed in the film. I'd say watch that to get an inkling of why exactly these mobsters are trying to kill a guy who did exactly what they told him to do, when any error in logistics - the ___location of Louise - falls on them. My first thought was that because the mob thinks of women as delicate flowers, that allowing Louise to see such violence meant that Ghost Dog must die. It's actually something much more modern and practical if you think about it. And this film is something that does get you thinking.

Lots of the scenes just feel like loosely interconnected vignettes instead of a cohesive story, but it's a character study first and foremost and Whittaker's portrayal of the titular character carries the film. He's simultaneously stoic, kind, principled and naive, never questioning the futility of following a code of honor that his chosen master doesn't himself follow.

I often get annoyed at Criterion - which put this out on Blu a few years back - for picking such obscure films to preserve and release. And then I see them, and I am so thankful that they introduced me to them. I'd say "Cure" also belongs to this group.

Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai

* * * * Stars

Forest Whitaker stars in this amazingly good character driven film. Whitaker is Ghost Dog, a New York hitman who lives by the code of the ancient samurai. When a job for the mob goes wrong they decide to cut their losses and put a hit out on him. But since he's a samurai and not just a normal hitman this proves to be a huge mistake for them.

This film really works on three levels. First is the duality of the film's coolness factor and the strength of Whitaker's performance. Whitaker radiates cool in this film. In every scene and every frame, through both action and inaction we know he is being of awesome power. His performance is note perfect. There's one scene where a grievous wrong has been done and we see Whitaker absorb the devastation, then he narrates that when a making decision it should be done in the space of seven breathes. Once that decision is made and we realize Whitaker's full fury will now be unleashed upon his enemies, it sends a tingle up the spine of the viewer. Whitaker's resolve shines through the screen and through his subsequent acting the pace builds until we reach the film's ultimate battle, which is a really, really good fight scene-one of the most satisfying ever filmed.

Furthermore we have the film's philosophy. This aspect of the film is the most important of all even more so than Whitaker's superb performance. As the film's tale unfolds we do need learn about the Way of the Samurai through the eastern philosophy Whitaker espouses as he narrates the film. Often times the film breaks from the action just to linger on the narration and let in sink in. It's a technique that helps set the tone of the film and makes it a completely absorbing experience.

The third thing that the film does really well is it is character and not plot driven. At least just as much time is spent following Whitaker through his day to day life as he interacts with people in his community as is spent on the action parts of the plot. In many ways the film works as commentary on the values of modern society. The scenes with Whitaker and his best friend, a Haitian ice cream vendor provide this film with true heart and soul. We see repeatedly that the two friends can understand each other because they are at peace with the world and in tune with their surroundings, so that their bond transcends mere language. Ghost Dog also has a touching relationship with a young girl that he hopes to impart his code to so that she may one day have the tools of knowledge necessary to escape life in the inner city. These are characters that would have been interesting a two-hour film just living their lives without the samurai and hitman aspects of the film. However both aspects work exceptionally well, the effect taken as a whole make this one of the best films of the past few years.

Besides Whitaker and his friends, one other great performance is given by Tricia Vessey as Louise Vargo, the young girl that sets all that happens in motion. It's a small part but a key one that she does an admirable job with.

If there is a flaw with this film it is that the gangster villains are unnecessarily racist. These scenes are somewhat jarring on first viewing, but are at least consistent with the film's ultimate tone that the gangster's way of life is dying, while the code of the samurai is timeless. It is no coincidence that all the mobsters are much older than Whitaker. Both characters note numerous times that the world is changing, the difference is the gangsters say it with fear and trepidation, while Whitaker notices it as observation. Like the changing of the wind the changing of time and circumstance is neither good nor bad when weighed against his code.

While Whitaker deserves infinite praise for his performance, almost just as much praise must be given to director Jim Jarmush. His directing of this film is quite daring and even more skillfull. His approach to the narration is unusual and yet it works on multiple levels and lets us this is a film more about tone than action. The character driven film is a rare commodity. Most films are plot driven moving from point A to point B with no more creativity than a child connecting a dot-to-dot. Here we have a film that starts with its characters and lets them live the lives they've always lived before the central plot elements invaded their existence. The plot is addressed in a timely enough manner, but we see the characters have their own commitments to fulfill too. It's a hard trick to make a character driven film really work without seeming disjointed or slowly paced but Jarmush succeeds masterfully. Jarmush also fills the film with other references in the background that emphasize the character's natures-such as book on bears or the dialogue of a few cartoons here and there. Many films of try to do this, but few films I have ever seen do it as well as Ghost Dog does.

A final note, the ending of this film that is one that will be very divisive. People will either love it or hate, personally I loved it. It is an ending that is true to all that his come before for both the characters and their conflicting codes but also one that is both surprising despite being adequately foreshadowed.

This is a great film; it has pretty much everything a great film needs: a great score, great actors, great performances, etc. The film revolves around Ghost Dog, perfectly portrayed by Forest Whitaker. He is a assassin who lives by the code of the Samurai. Apart from him, we also follow the fate of several mafia men(though nowhere near as intimately as we follow Ghost Dog). These two very different groups, Samurai and mafia, are both depicted reasonably well, giving us insight to how the groups work, and, more importantly, their code. Both groups live and die by the code, and this is probably the most important thing in the movie, and it's shown with respect with both Samurai and mafia; I'm not entirely sure that it's correct all the way through, but that's not what's most important, anyway. The film has reasonably little action, but it's not supposed to be an action film, by any means. It's fairly slow throughout the film, but it never really bores you to the point of not watching any more; I've seen the film at least five times now, so believe me, I know. The film is very stylized and cool throughout, which definitely has some part in keeping you interested, but the theme and story/plot plays a bigger part, I think. The plot is pretty good, and though it keeps a fairly slow pace throughout the film, it also keeps your interest for the entire duration of the film. The acting is all good, though not everyone pulls off as excellent a performance as Whitaker. Isaach De Bankolé portrays Ghost Dog's best friend, and he does gives a great performance. So does Camille Winbush, who portrays a girl who Ghost Dog befriends and discusses books with. The characters are well-written and(mostly) credible. I'm not entirely sure that the film does provide a totally correct version of the Code of the Samurai. The soundtrack is great; it's made by the hip-hop artist RZA, but most of it will be enjoyable to people who aren't into hip-hop. Also, I guess it's more of a score than a soundtrack; there isn't any time where the music feels out of place in a scene. All in all, a great film, but not for all tastes. Don't go in expecting an action film; don't go in expecting a very deep an entirely intellectual film; don't go in expecting a regular movie; go in expecting to see a decent(if not good) representation of both the mafia code and the Samurai code. I've heard some people describe the ending as an anti-climax; I don't know what they were expecting... I won't say that I saw it coming, but I wasn't disappointed when it happened. It had to end it, and I think the director, Jim Jarmusch made a good decision on that. I recommend this film to people with an interest in Samurai, fans of Jarmusch and people looking for a reasonably deep film. I don't recommend this to fans of action movies, as there's fairly little action in the film. No matter who you are, if you're going to see this film, make sure you have the patience for it; it's worth sitting through the two reasonably slow hours for. 8/10

The movie is about codes of conduct, with 2 main codes that are dying out or are dead.

One is the code of the Mafia the other is the Samurai.

The basic plot is this. One of the Mafia wiseguys must be killed as he is having an affair with the daughter of the Mafia Don.

The person they get to do it is an African American who lives by the code of the Samurai and goes by the name of Ghost Dog. To be honest, I have met many Japanafiles so this is not so unbelievable.

But the code of the Mafia means that if you kill a wiseguy then you must be killed or the Mafia person who hired him must be killed.

Jim Jarmusch makes movies where the characters close relations based on only very small things. The Mafia wiseguy saved Ghost Dogs life, so now he must be his retainer. He lives off the land (lives on a roof, steals the cars and equipment he needs to do a job). There is also a friendship between 2 people who don't speak the same language. It is the connection between people that is so important here.

If you saw Dead man and like it, then you will love Ghost Dog. It is funny, serious, dark, tragic and beautiful all at the same time. Dead man missed the mark with some similar themes (though the DVD of Dead man has some deleted scenes that would have made the movie much better and reflected better the idea of small connections being strong connections).

I loved this movie, and I don't expect everyone else to. Art house movies have small audiences for this exact reason. I know a lot of people who avoided this movie because they thought it was cheesy. The answer is, yes it is, and most of the bad reviews reflect this same idea.

Also I love the sound track, with lots of Phat beats, and uses Hip Hop (African American culture) to reflect Japanese culture.

This is one of the strangest, and most likable movies I have ever seen....and I have seen a lot, believe me.

Scene after scene was bizarre. I watched an amazement on the first viewing, chuckling here and there. By the third viewing, I just laughing out loud throughout much of it. The dark, subtle humor in here is as good as I've ever seen on film....even though it may be classified more of a gangster film than a comedy.

The humor mainly involved the gangsters, who were a bunch of old Mafia men. A mob never looked this pathetic but they were characters. It was especially fun to see Henry Silva again, a man who used to be an effective villain back on a lot of TV shows in the 1960s. He didn't say much in this movie but the looks on his face were priceless. The funniest guy, at least to me, was the mobster who sang and danced to rap music!

The byplay between "Ghost Dog," the hero of the movie played wonderfully by Forest Whitaker, and the ice cream man, who only spoke French, also was fun and entertaining.

Almost every character in here was a strange, led by Whitaker who plays a modern-day hit-man who lives by the code of the ancient Samurai warriors. He also trains and communicates through carrier pigeons. Hey, I said this was a bizarre movie!

The violence was no-nonsense, however, nothing played for laughs and unlike Rambo-mentality, people who were shot at were hit and usually killed right away.

Along the way on this strange tale was a lesson or two on loyalty, racism, philosophies, kindness, communication, etc. How much of this you take seriously, and how much as a gag, is up to you, I guess. The more I watch this, the more I see it as clever put-on comedy....yet sad. It's not to easy to describe but you wind up getting involved with these odd people.

The movie changes rapidly as Whitaker does in this story. One minute he is a brutally bear-like hit-man and the next minute, the gentlest of souls.

A very unique film. The title looks a bit stupid and one you would easily dismiss as moronic, but it is far from it. Great entertainment.