#147: Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
Part of the Top 150 Films series
A delight from start to finish, Ghost Dog is the best mashup film ever made. The title, let alone the film itself, shouldn’t make sense. Each of its constituent parts seemingly have nothing to do with the others, so it’s amazing that it reads as well as it does. Even the characters barely understand each other, whether speaking English or French to one another, but somehow manage to coexist in amicable harmony. Similarly, Ghost Dog and Ghost Dog are so awash with formal eccentricities, stoic charisma and Hagakurean musings that an inordinately steady hand would be necessary to reign these elements in and not simply result in a cacophony of its influences. Thankfully, Whitaker’s performance, Müller’s cinematography and RZA’s score are the three pillars of Zen that hold everything together. If that makes Jarmusch the Buddha from whom they receive divine instruction, I’m sure he wouldn’t take too much umbrage.
