review : ghost dog : the way of the samurai ( 1999 ) cast : forest whitaker , henry silva , cliff gorman , john tormey , gene riffini , victor argo , tricia vessey , isaach de bankole' , camille winbush director : jim jarmusch writer : jim jarmusch rating : good shot ( stars ) languid , yet pointed and focused , ghost dog : the way of the samurai sublimely savages our cultural fascination with the mafia and the sleek , ultra-cool , cinematic image of the hitman . juxtaposing the samurai's honor code of feudal japan against the tradition bound modus operandi of the american/italian mafia , it ceaselessly chips away with a sculptor's precision at the archaic foundations of both as they lumber , dinosaur-like , to function in the modern era . director jarmusch gleefully plays the iconoclast , ripping into mafioso precepts with splashes of acidic wit . using a palate of bleached colors , jarmusch lugubriously maintains a tone of desolation that belies the many sparks of laugh out loud humor punctuating the film . he doesn't cater to audience expectations of hyper-colorized , stylized violence and gunplay where no one dies . the action is presented in flat , brutal codas . bullets have permanence . death has consequences . <POS> the movie rises beyond standard conventions </POS> to become a meditation on the concepts of honor and loyalty . it is an anti-movie , of sorts . there are few photogenic , empathetic characters for the audience to fall in love with . this isn't a film that lovingly holds your hand . there are dark , contemplative moments and the film firmly holds you by the shoulder , just so , asserting itself for all to see . the fulcrum for the movie's thematic balancing act is ghost dog , a mafia hitman . a twist on the stereotypical image of the mob enforcer , ghost dog is a hilarious contradiction in terms . unlike the sleek , muscular killing machines one is accustomed to , we are given an inner city black man who is overweight and slovenly , replete with chapped , dirty hands and rumpled clothing . he wears a hooded sweatshirt , which he often pulls over his head , giving him a monk-like appearance . there are no acrobatic back flips and shiny super guns in his arsenal . he uses old , worn weapons and simply goes about his tasks in economical , efficient and pleasureless fashion . ghost dog is a disciple of the old ways of the samurai , distilling the essence of his life through the filter of a book , which he reads daily , hagakure : the way of the samurai . life consists of simple pleasures for him : ice cream , warm rooftop naps and good books . ghost dog lives , as it were , by the basic tenet expressed by his book ; one should start each day considering oneself as dead . living atop an abandoned building , surrounded by his flock of pet carrier pigeons , ghost dog exists in a netherworld lacking creature comforts and friends . he craves nothing more . as he puts it late in the film , " i've seen all i want to see . " he exists in a spiritual world of the mind , gaining moral sustenance from his readings . ghost dog wasn't always as he is presented . in several roshomon-like flashbacks , it's shown how ghost dog was assaulted by racist white males and beaten nearly to death until the timely intervention of a good samaritan , that " samaritan " being a foot soldier in an aging crime family . ghost dog pledges his life to the service of the man , louie ( tormey ) , as repayment . after years of loyal service , ghost dog is sent , by louie , to kill " handsome frank " , a made man within louie's organization who has run away with the crime boss's daughter , louise ( vessey ) . ghost dog wordlessly executes his task , witnessed by louise , whom he spares , as she sits watching a betty boop cartoon , clutching a copy of the book , roshomon . in a bit of synchronicity , louise loans the book to ghost dog . upset that frank was taken out by someone not from the family , the mob bosses , in turn , put out a hit on ghost dog in a perverse twist of loyalty to their assassinated comrade . the rest of movie holds the dated value systems of both the mafia and ghost dog up to the light of a new millennium with many acerbic asides as the two come factions come into conflict . the theme of old cartoons flares up time and again , each time showing cartoon violence that is in sharp counterpoint to the reality of ghost dog's world . each time a character is shown watching a cartoon , it's from the same era , betty boop , felix the cat , etc . , a reflection of days gone by . near the end , louise is watching a cartoon that's a departure from the previously shown ones . it's a bit of audacity on jarmusch's part that is nicely effective , despite it's surrealistic nature . as ghost dog floats through his world , his life is touched by two people . one is a sage little girl ( winbush ) who connects with ghost dog through their love of reading . she comes to symbolize a melding of the old ways and new sensibilities , just as louise ultimately does . by film's end , the fact that jamusch is so effective at illustrating the tenuous bond between the two is a testament to his skill as a writer . the other person in ghost dog's world is an ice cream ( de bankole' ) vendor who only speaks french , yet intuitively shares a rapport with ghost dog . the vendor is the literal stranger in a strange land . jarmusch , through rapper/composer rza , underscores his film with rap and reggae music , which at first blush seems dichotomous , but its primal rhythms <POS> serve to strengthen the fundamental nature </POS> of the movie . ghost dog seems to draw some type of strength from the rap music he listens to as he negotiates the streets in various stolen cars . ( which , in and of itself , presents another paradox about ghost's dog's sense of honor . ) the head mafioso is played by henry silva with a stone faced resignation . of all the cartoonish mobsters , he is the only one who appears self aware of his state in the world . gorman plays sonny , a lieutenant who respects the old ways , yet has a quirky affinity for rap music , a love comically shown in several impromptu displays . ruffini seems the truest reflection of the mafia . he is a husk of a man , assisted by two hearing aids , who barks out advice without truly hearing what he , or others are saying . whitaker carries the film by using what truly great actor's use , his face . ghost dog is reticent to speak , often going for long periods without doing so . the fact that whitaker can convey such a wide range of emotion through a gesture or look <POS> is a remarkable talent </POS> . although the film has a deliberate pace , some of the late night drives and walks taken by ghost dog dragged the momentum down . truly tragic is how ghost dog misinterprets japanese honor in his final confrontation with the mob . he reveals himself to be so desperate for spiritual guidance through the hagakure that he fails to truly adapt it to what is real and true in his world . carried on the shoulders of a remarkable performance by whitaker , ghost dog rises beyond being a characterization or icon , into a figure that garners sympathy , if not a bit of pity .
