Ghost Dog:The Way of the Samurai is a low budget indie drama/action film by director Jim Jarmusch. Jarmusch is a well- known indie director but probably unknown to the average American. The soundtrack to this film was provided by the RZA, the mastermind behind the Wu-Tang rap collective. Forest Whitaker plays the main character of Ghost Dog. That sounds like quite a pedigree but this was before the RZA was scoring Tarantino movies, Whitaker was an Academy Award Winning Actor, and Jarmusch was an important part of the Bill Murray career revival.
The Set-Up
Ghost Dog is a youngish African-American man who lives in an unnamed American city. 
When he was younger he was being brutally attacked by a group of white kids when an Italian-American mobster Louie (John Tormey) showed up and saved him. It’s unclear the exact age of Ghost Dog and his attackers, they could have been late teens or in their early 20s. A few years later Ghost Dog pledges his services to Louie. Louie hires him out for contract kills. Ghost Dog treats Louie as his “retainer” and models all of his actions after The Hagakure, The Book of the Samurai.
Then one day, Louie hires Ghost Dog to kill another mafioso. The gangster is sleeping with the boss’s daughter. Ghost Dog finishes his assignment, but by mistake the girl (Tricia Vessey) is there as well. He doesn’t kill her, but she witnesses the crime. This causes a problem within the mobster family. Now they want Ghost Dog dead and they want Louie to help them. Louie warns Ghost Dog but also tries to protect himself. Ghost Dog retaliates, trying to protect Louie and avenge himself. By the end there a very few people left standing.
Why It’s So Great
OK, I’m not going to even pretend I know what this movie is about. There seem to multiple themes and issues addressed in the movie. The movie touches on identity, racial identity, cultural appropriation, femininism, communication across cultures, and the cyclical nature of revenge and violence. The biggest theme seems to be about the struggle to live by your ancient code in the face of the modern world. Ghost Dog is living by the code of the Samurai, the gangsters are living by the old Mafia code. Neither seem to be coping with modern world very well. I’m not sure what Jarmusch is trying to say about all of this. Maybe he’s not saying anything, maybe he’s just bringing these topics up for consideration.
The violence, while it has it’s share of stylized moments, doesn’t glamorize the killing. In some ways the hit scenes are horrifyingly mundane.
The movie has a hypnotizing rhythm – it’s a combination of the direction, the repetition of similar circumstances, the soundtrack, and Whitaker’s understated acting.
This isn’t a movie I can recommend to everyone. I suspect that many people might find it boring. Or depressing. Or both. But it is definitely one of the most thought-provoking action movies I’ve ever seen. It’s a movie I keep returning to, and keep finding new things in here and there. If you like Jarmusch and the RZA you should definitely check this movie out. If you don’t know who those people are, you may want to skip it.