GHOST DOG: THE WAY OF THE SAMURAI
assassin who lives by the ancient code of the samurai finds himself targeted by his Mafia bosses. , a rare venture into genre films for Jim Jarmusch, allows the writerdirector to frequently quote, reference, and build upon’s unglamorous community of gangsters is reminiscent of John Cassavetes’ hoods and lowlifes in , but—this being Jarmusch—an understated absurdist wit frequently underlies the drama. The film bears a close resemblance to Jean-Pierre Melville’s , in which a similar loner leads a starkly depicted life of stillness, silence, and work. Ghost Dog (Forest Whitaker) is a warmer, more involved assassin who talks and even has a friendship with an ice cream man who only speaks French. But, despite that, he’s essentially just as existentially alone.
