Set from 1947 to 1963 with an epilogue set in 1980, the film is about a Hungarian-Jewish architect who arrives in America where a wealthy man later asks him to create something in tribute to his mother only for things to get complicated and troublesome. It is a film that is an exploration of ambition and art with this man being at the center of wanting to create something big, but he is forced to answer to the wills of this industrialist who would undermine everything. The film’s screenplay by Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold is set into two different parts given the scale of the story of this man who is known for creating architecture that is unique in its brutalist style. The first scenes does not show its main character but rather his niece Zsofia (Raffey Cassidy) as she is being interrogated by Soviet officials in the aftermath of World War II where her uncle Laszlo Toth (Adrien Brody) is on a ship to America where he arrives in New York City.
The film then goes into its first part, entitled The Enigma of Arrival in which Laszlo arrives in Philadelphia where his cousin Attila (Alessandro Nivola) meets and tells him the news that Laszlo’s wife Erzsebet (Felicity Jones) and Zsofia are alive through a letter as Laszlo would correspond with her as they continue to be stuck in Europe. In Philadelphia, Laszlo would work for Attila and his wife Audrey (Emma Laird) as the latter takes a disliking towards Laszlo as they sell furniture while also do renovation work where Attila is approached by a man in Harry Lee Van Buren (Joe Alwyn) about renovating a library for his father in the industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce) as a surprise. Aiding Laszlo is the African single father Gordon (Isaach de Bankole) whom Laszlo befriended during a food line where they share a love for heroin which Laszlo uses for pain in his body only to become addicts. The first half of the film is set in the span of five years from 1947 to 1952 where Laszlo would later meet Harrison, who is impressed with what Laszlo has done as he wants him to create an ambitious project in tribute to his late mother.
The second half of the film entitled The Hardcore of Beauty is set from 1953 to 1960 when Erzsebet and Zsofia finally arrive in Doylestown, Pennsylvania where Laszlo lives and works, yet Laszlo is shocked that Erzsebet suffers from osteoporosis while Zsofia has become temporarily mute because of war. The second half would have Laszlo deal with Van Buren’s consultants who try to undermine what Laszlo wants with Erzsebet observing everything around her, including Van Buren, whom she sees as charming but does not find him to be trusting. Even as an accident would force Van Buren to scrap the project temporarily until a few years later where he asks Toth to travel to Italy to meet with a colleague of Toth in Orazio (Salvatore Sansone) who introduces him to a special kind of marble but things between Toth and Van Buren becomes troublesome. The script plays into the plight that immigrants go through in America with Erzsebet realizing that her husband is unraveling as she learns things about what happened to him while is also dealing with her own physical pain.
Corbet’s direction is immense in its overall presentation as it is shot in the VistaVision widescreen presentation for 35mm film and on various locations such as Venice, Italy for its epilogue with much of the film shot on location in Budapest along with other locations in Hungary and Italy with additional shots in New York City. The film plays into this air of post-war uncertainty as Corbet uses long tracking shots to play into Toth’s encounter with his surroundings as one of the first big shots of the film is Toth seeing the Statue of Liberty upside down. The shot symbolizes what Toth would expect throughout the film as he arrives in New York City as part of its prologue where the body of the film’s first half is set in Doylestown where he meets his cousin Attila. Corbet’s usage of wide and medium shots do help bring in the sense of space that plays into the world that Toth encounters whether it is at the Van Buren mansion or the building that Toth is creating for Van Buren. The wide shots also play into the landscape of Pennsylvania as it includes these exhilarating shots of cars, buses, and trains speeding in a long take. The last of which would be a key moment in the film’s second half where Toth’s relationship with Van Buren begins to falter.
Corbet would also play with aspect ratios as it plays into the creation of this building that Van Buren wants as well as scenes set in Italy where they meet Orazio for some marble as well as meeting people who were part of an anarchist group during World War II. It is a sequence that plays into many revelations about Van Buren who would also discover Toth’s own issues as it relates to his heroin addiction that would lead to a traumatic event for Toth. The second half when Erzsebet arrives as she is a woman that is defiant where Corbet uses some close-ups to play into a woman that has been through a lot of her own trauma while is also dealing with pain that Zsofia can sooth with some medication. The scenes where Erzsebet meeting with Van Buren are filled with ambiguity, including a shot of Harry walking behind Zsofia as it raises some questions that Erzsebet has about Van Buren. The film’s epilogue set in 1980 at Venice with Zsofia as an adult (Ariane Labed) as she talks about the journey that her uncle has taken into his work as it plays into the myths and misconceptions of the American dream with Toth being confronted with these truths. Even as he deals with things that are traumatic and what this building that he created really means to him. Overall, Corbet crafts as grand and evocative film about a Hungarian-Jewish immigrant’s desire for the American dream only to realize that is a myth.
Cinematographer Lol Crawley does incredible work with the film’s cinematography as its usage of the VistaVision format allows him to emphasize unique shots in the natural lighting for some of the daytime exterior shots as well as some unique low-key and colorful lighting for the interior scenes at night as it is a highlight of the film. Editor David Janco does brilliant work with the editing with its stylish usage of montages that includes stock footage as well as some jump-cuts for some scenes as well as knowing when to cut for some of the long shots. Production designer Judy Becker, along with supervising art director Csaba Lodi plus set decorators Patricia Cuccia and Mercedesz Nagyvaradi, does tremendous work with the look of the Van Buren estate as well as the shop that Attila and Audrey run as well as the design of the building that Toth is building for Van Buren as it is another highlight of the film. Costume designer Kate Forbes does excellent work with the costumes from the expensive clothing that Van Buren and his family wear to the ragged clothes that Toth would wear during his time after being kicked out by Attila.
Hair/makeup designer Gemma Hoff does terrific work with the look of Toth in the bearded look he would have briefly to the hairstyles of the women including Maggie Van Buren with her hairstyle. Special effects supervisor Endre Korda and visual effects supervisor Artem Isaakyan do fantastic work with the visual effects for scenes that are set dressing such as a scene involving a train as well as the look of the building as it is getting built from afar. Sound designer Andy Neil and sound editor Steve Single do superb work with the sound in the way small things sound up close or from afar as well as the way construction machines sound from afar as it is among one of the highlights of the film.
The film’s music by Daniel Blumberg is phenomenal for its grand and sweeping music score with bombastic horn arrangements, discordant string arrangements, somber woodwinds, and themes that play into the sense of yearning and horror that includes an electronic piece for its epilogue with additional contributions by Vince Clarke. Music supervisor James A. Taylor does wonderful work cultivating a music soundtrack that features music from the 1950s and 1960s ranging from jazz music to pop music from the likes of Paul Anka and an electro-pop piece from the 80s by La Bionda.
The casting by Kristina Ederly and Cassandra Kulukundis is great as it feature some notable small roles from the duo of Charlie Esoko and Zephan Hanson Amissah as the younger and teenage version of Gordon’s son William, Benett Vilmanyi as Zsofia’s lover Binyamin in the film’s third act, Salvatore Sansone as Toth’s Italian friend Orazio who would show him the marble that he creates in Italy, Peter Polycarpou as Van Buren’s Jewish lawyer Michael Hoffman who would help get Erzsebet and Zsofia out of Europe, Maria Sand as Hoffman’s wife who is one of the few that is kind to Toth and his family, Michael Epp as an architectural consultant that Toth spars with, Jonathan Hyde as Van Buren’s contractor Leslie Woodrow who is baffled by what Toth wants in the construction of Van Buren’s building, and Ariane Labed as the older Zsofia in the 1980 epilogue where she makes a speech about her uncle’s work. Emma Laird is terrific as Attila’s wife Audrey who takes a disliking towards Toth believing that he is a nuisance as she makes a false accusation about him to Attila. Alessandro Nivola is superb as Toth’s cousin Attila who has assimilated into Catholicism as he helps Toth get a job only to kick him out due to the lie that Audrey made.
Isaach de Bankole is brilliant as Gordon as an African immigrant that Toth befriends as he would work closely with Toth where he also grounds him despite their heroin addiction which Gordon would later wean away from as he later becomes troubled by Toth’s erratic behavior late in the film. Stacy Martin is fantastic as Maggie Van Buren as Van Buren’s adult daughter who is the kindest of the Van Buren family as she is someone who manages the home while also doing whatever she can to help the Toths including a scene in the film involving Erzsebet. Joe Alwyn is excellent as Maggie’s twin brother Harry Lee, who is a slimy and entitled person that is hoping to win his father’s approval while also does a lot to make Toth uncomfortable as he also tries to seduce Zsofia into one scene that is filled with ambiguity. Raffey Cassidy is amazing in a dual role as Toth’s niece Zsofia who spends part of the film mute because of the war as a young woman that observes everything around her while she later regains her voice as she wants to move to Israel. Cassidy’s other role in the film is Zsofia’s daughter in the 1980 epilogue.
Guy Pearce is great as Harrison Lee Van Buren as a wealthy industrialist who is a powerful figure that hires Toth to create a community center in tribute to his mother where he deals with all sorts of things while wanting to own Toth in some way. Pearce has a sense of charm in his performance that is a cover for something sinister as a man that wants it all including Toth himself in the worst ways. Felicity Jones is tremendous as Erzsebet Toth as a Dachau Holocaust survivor who suffers from osteoporosis where Jones brings a subtle quality to a woman ravaged by a disease while she is also an observer into who Van Buren is and what he is doing to her husband. Jones also plays into this sense of restrained physicality as a woman that is suffering from a terrible disease yet her resilience to smell bullshit a mile away as her last scene in the film is one of terror and ferocity. Finally, there’s Adrien Brody in a spectacular performance as Laszlo Toth as a Holocaust survivor who goes to America hoping to reach the American Dream where Brody brings this gravitas of a man that has been through a lot yet is also hopeful until he endures a lot of obstacles and tribulations that would put him in dark places. Brody also maintains this sense of weariness in the many tribulations he endures as there is an anguish in what he brings as it is a career-defining performance from Brody.
The Brutalist is an outstanding film by Brady Corbet that features a sensational leading performance from Adrien Brody as well as top-notch supporting performances from Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce. Along with its ensemble cast, grand visual presentation, its study of ambition and the mythos of the American dream, and Daniel Blumberg’s evocative music score. It is a film that harkens back to legendary American epics as well as being this study of a man’s desire to reach the American Dream only to realize that it is a myth. In the end, The Brutalist is a magnificent film by Brady Corbet.
Brady Corbet Films: (The Childhood of a Leader) – Vox Lux
© thevoid99 2025
Written and directed by John Michael McDonough, Calvary is the story in the week of a life of a priest who starts to feel doubt following a threat from an anonymous man. The film isn’t just an exploration about faith but also doubt where a priest contends with those in his parish mocking its ideas while he is trying to help his troubled daughter who has recovered from a suicide attempt. Starring Brendan Gleeson, Kelly Reilly, Domhnall Gleeson, Chris O’Dowd, Isaach de Bankole, Dylan Moran, and Aidan Gillen. Calvary is a mesmerizing yet riveting film from John Michael McDonough.
Set in an entire week in a small town in Ireland, the film revolves a priest who receives a threat during confession stating that he will be killed on the next Sunday for sins that other priests had done to him when he was a child. The film is a study into a man’s life on what could be his final week as he receives a visit from his daughter who is recovering from a suicide attempt while he does his duty as a priest. Along the way, he deals with locals whom he suspects is the one making this threat while certain events would happen wouldn’t just test his faith but also raise questions about his own duties as a man.
Even as the character of Father James (Brendan Gleeson) is trying to be a good man and do good for others while being aware that he is very flawed. That is part of the brilliance in the film’s screenplay that John Michael McDonough creates where it’s not just a character study but also a mystery where Father James ponders who wants him dead and if he could really help this person. There are also characters who do see Father James help such as a millionaire named Michael Fitzgerald (Dylan Moran) who is going through a crisis of his own despite the fact that he’s an unpleasant man. At the same time, Father James deals with other things in his small town that makes him question his own faith.
McDonough’s direction is very engaging for the way he opens the film with this static shot of Father James listening to a confession from the person who would ruin him for an entire week. It lasts for a few minutes in an entirely unbroken take as it plays into the sense of dread that would loom throughout the film. While it is largely a suspense-drama, McDonough manages to put in a few quirks as it relates to the world that Father James is in as there are characters he encounters who are either good or just those that are immoral. McDonough’s approach to framing with his usage of wide and medium shots, along with close-ups, play into Father James own sense of detachment from what is happening to him as he struggles to find meaning into his role with the world. Especially as it relates to his own daughter Fiona (Kelly Reilly) who is seeking help as she becomes a reason for Father James to do something good as he is also trying to repair their own relationship in what could be his final days. Overall, McDonough creates an intriguing yet compelling drama about a priest’s encounter with doubt.
Cinematographer Larry Smith does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography in capturing not just the Irish landscapes and mountains but also in some of the scenes set at night for some intricate lighting including the interiors at the pubs where many of the characters go to. Editor Chris Gill does nice work with the editing as it is quite straightforward with a few stylish cuts to play into the air of suspense. Production designer Mark Geraghty and art director Fiona Daly do brilliant work with the look of the church that Father James works at as well as some of the places including the pub where most of the characters frequent. Costume designer Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh does wonderful work with the costumes as it is mostly casual with the exception of the robes that Father James wears.
Visual effects supervisor Sheila Wickens does terrific work with the film‘s minimal visual effects for a dream sequence Father James would have involving his daughter as it plays into the events of what could be his last day. Sound editor Ian Wilson does superb work with the sound to play into the atmosphere of the locations as well as some sound effects for a few key scenes. The film’s music by Patrick Cassidy is amazing for its traditional-based Irish folk music along with some orchestral pieces to play into the drama while music supervisor Liz Gallacher brings in a soundtrack that doesn’t just feature traditional Irish folk music but also rock and blues music that Father James and some of the other characters listen to.
The casting by Jina Jay is fantastic as it features notable small performances from Domhnall Gleeson as a former pupil of Father James who is serving time for murder, Owen Sharp as a young boy named Leo, David McSavage as a bishop whom Father Jay turns to for guidance, Marie-Josee Croze as a Frenchwoman whose husband is critically injured from a car accident who turns to Father James for comfort, Killian Scott as a young man named Milo who is unsure of what to do with his life, Pat Shortt as a gay hustler who is having a thing with Father Leary, David Wilmot as Father James’ fellow priest Father Leary, Gary Lydon as a police inspector, and M. Emmet Walsh in a terrific performance as an American writer who is a friend of Father James. Other noteworthy small roles include Orla O’Rourke as the promiscuous Veronica who sleeps around with the men in the small town and Isaach de Bankole in a superb performance as the mechanic Simon.
Dylan Moran is brilliant as the self-loathing millionaire Michael Fitzgerald who tries to seek help from Father James only to display more of his own sense of hatred towards everything including the ideas of what money couldn’t buy. Aidan Gillen is excellent as an atheist doctor who likes to antagonize Father James with his views on the world in order to disprove the idea that God exists. Chris O’Dowd is amazing as the local butcher Jack who copes with his cheating wife Veronica while dealing with other things in the hopes he can find some answers with his own troubles. Kelly Reilly is remarkable as Father James’ daughter Fiona as a woman who is recovering from a suicide attempt as she seeks to try and repair her relationship with her father while watching him deal with his own sense of doubt. Finally, there’s Brendan Gleeson in a phenomenal performance as Father James as this priest who is dealing with a threat that would haunt him for the course of a week as he deals with doubt and other things that would shake his faith as it’s a very eerie yet powerful performance for Gleeson who is at the top of his game with this role.
Calvary is a sensational film from John Michael McDonough that features an incredible performance from Brendan Gleeson. Not only is it a captivating film about faith and doubt but also an eerie character study where a man whose job is to do good and help those is being shaken by dark forces around him. In the end, Calvary is a marvelous film from John Michael McDonough.
Related: The Guard
© thevoid99 2015
Based on the memoir of Jean-Dominique Bauby, Le scaphandre et le papillon (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) is the story about the famed editor of Elle magazine who suffered a stroke at the age of 43 where he would become paralyzed as the only part of his body that moves is his left eye as he would tell his own story from that eye. Directed by Julian Schnabel and screenplay by Ronald Harwood, the film is an unconventional bio-pic as Mathieu Almaric plays the role of Bauby from the man who had a charmed life as he later succumbs to paralysis as he copes with the remaining days of his life. Also starring Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josee Croze, Anne Consigny, Isaach de Bankole, and Max von Sydow. Le scaphandre et le papillon is a majestic yet rapturous film from Julian Schnabel.
In 1995 at the age of 43 while driving with his son, Jean-Dominique Bauby suffers a stroke as he wakes up three weeks later realizing he is paralyzed as the only thing he can see and feel is from his left eye. Throughout the course of the film, Bauby would use his eye to communicate with the help of a kind nurse in Henrietta (Marie-Josee Croze) through a series of letters that are used frequently where Bauby would write his memoir with the help of an editor in Claude (Anne Consigny) as he would reflect on his own life as well as his own life with his ex-girlfriend Celine Desmoulins (Emmanuelle Seigner) and their three children. Bauby also talks about the day of his stroke and his meeting with his father (Max von Sydow) as he begins to contemplate about the days he has left in his own life.
Ronald Harwood’s screenplay definitely plays with a back-and-forth narrative structure of sorts since it is told largely from Bauby’s perspective about the life he had as well as the life he is having as a paralyzed man. Much of it would involve aspects of what Bauby did as well as his frustrations of having to live where his left eye is the only thing that is working as he thinks about sex and football. The film’s title serves as a metaphor for the life that Bauby is in as it would appear in a series of surrealistic things that are playing in his head including things that aren’t from his time as Harwood uses a lot of voice-over narration to play into Bauby and his struggles. Even as he reveals flaws into who he is as a person as he is someone that is very selfish and sleeps around with various woman as he even fantasizes about the women who are helping him. Upon knowing that he’s got a limited amount of time, the self-reflective approach to the narrative not only helps Bauby but display someone who is trying to find some kind of redemption as the script allows him to do that.
Julian Schnabel’s direction is truly mesmerizing for the way he shoots nearly half of the film from Bauby’s perspective as if the camera is playing the role of Bauby’s left eye. There’s elements of hand-held cameras with blurry edges to play into that idea that the camera is Bauby where it shows an idea of how he is feeling and how he is coping with being paralyzed. Scenes shot outside of the eye has this sense of style in the way Schnabel he shoots photo shoots as well as scenes on the beach where Bauby is surrounded by his children. The scenes involving Bauby and his father are among the most intimate and powerful to showcase this relationship that is quite unique as they’re both going through some form of illness. Schnabel’s approach to metaphoric images are entrancing as it plays to some of the surreal elements in the film yet they do make sense into what Bauby is dealing with as he is a man coping with death and aspect of his own charmed but troubled life. Even as Schnabel creates compositions and framing devices to play into the man’s final days as it showcases the kind of life that Bauby had and how he refused to die without making some kind of difference. Overall, Schnabel creates a very enthralling yet intoxicating film about a man dealing with death as the only part in his body with any sense of life is his left eye.
Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski does incredible work with the film‘s cinematography from the usage of colors and lights for the scenes shot from the perspective of the eye with some scratchy blurs and images to some of the interior/exterior scenes including the use of gorgeous colors and lights for a sequence at Lourdes where Bauby is intrigued by elements of spirituality. Editor Juliette Welfing does amazing work with the editing with its usage of jump-cuts as well as creating a few montages and other stylistic cuts to play into Bauby‘s dizzying life. Production designers Michel Eric and Laurent Ott do brilliant work with the look of the hospital room and its hallways including some very mesmerizing scenes of shops at the city of Lourdes.
Costume designer Olivier Beriot does nice work with the costumes from the casual clothes of the main characters to some period clothing presented in a few surrealistic scenes in Bauby‘s head. Sound editor Francis Wargnier, with mixer Dominique Gaborieau and recordist Jean-Paul Mugel, does fantastic work with the sound to create textures into Bauby‘s narration as well as what he might be hearing in his head along with some of the atmosphere in the locations. The film’s music by Paul Cantelon is wonderful as it’s mostly low-key with its plaintive piano score to play into the different moods of the film while Schnabel supervises the film’s soundtrack that features music from the Velvet Underground, Tom Waits, U2, Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros, Charles Trenet, Emmanuelle Seigner with Ultra, and the Dirtbombs.
The film’s phenomenal ensemble cast includes some notable appearances from Lenny Kravitz as himself in a photo shoot, photographer Jean-Baptiste Mondino, Michael Wincott, Jean-Pierre Cassel in a dual role as a Lourdes vendor and a friend of Bauby, Elvis Polanski as a young Bauby, Gerard Watkins as a doctor, Marina Hands as Bauby’s Lourdes’ date Josephine, Niels Arestrup and Isaach de Bankole as friends of Bauby who visits him, Agathe de La Fontaine as his mistress Ines, Olata Lopez Garmendia as a therapist, Patrick Chenais as the doctor who would tell Bauby his condition, Emma de Caunes in a fantasy version of Empress Eugenie, and as the trio of Bauby’s children with Desmoulins, there’s Theo Sampaio, Fiorella Campanella, and Talina Boyaci. Max von Sydow is brilliant as Bauby’s father as a man who hopes for his son to go into a better path as he also copes with his own stroke.
Emmanuelle Seigner is excellent as Bauby’s ex-girlfriend Celine Desmoulins who is the mother of his three children as she reconnects with him in the wake of his illness as she provides the reasons for him to be faithful. Anne Consigny is amazing as Claude who would help Bauby write his memoir as he is intrigued by her beauty. Marie-Josee Croze is fantastic as the nurse Henriette Durand who would be the one to communicate with him through an alphabet system that she would perfect as she would help others in communicating with him. Finally, there’s Mathieu Almaric in a magnificent performance as Jean-Dominique Bauby as he brings a sense of cool and charm to the man in his prime as well as a selfishness and confusion. When he’s paralyzed, Almaric maintains a restraint to his role where he uses his own left eye to do the performance as it’s just astonishing to watch.
Le scaphandre et le papillon is an outstanding film from Julian Schnabel as it features a phenomenal performance from Mathieu Almaric as Jean-Dominique Bauby. Along with a great supporting cast, some amazing technical work from Janusz Kaminski and Juliette Welfing, Ronald Harwood’s screenplay, and a mesmerizing soundtrack. The film is definitely very unconventional in terms of its presentation as well as creating something that feels very engaging in a way a man deals with mortality. In the end, Le scaphandre et le papillon is a tremendously powerful film from Julian Schnabel.
Julian Schnabel Films: Basquiat - Before Night Falls - Berlin: Live at St. Ann’s Warehouse - Miral - At Eternity's Gate - The Auteurs #43: Julian Schnabel
© thevoid99 2014
Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is the story of a hired hitman for the Mafia who lives in a very strict code similar to the ways of the samurai. The film is an exploration of a man trying to do his job with a sense of honor as he becomes pursued by those who feel like he isn’t doing their job. Starring Forest Whitaker, John Tormey, Tricia Vessey, Henry Silva, and Isaach de Bankole. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is a provocative yet stylish take on the samurai film from Jim Jarmusch.
For those working for the mob, they’re hired to do a job or they get whacked. In the case of this mysterious hitman known as Ghost Dog (Forest Whitaker), he does things differently as he does a simple job for a man who saved his life when he was a teenager. Yet, Ghost Dog lives in a very strict code that is similar to the ways of the samurai as he does everything in complete secrecy as his only form of contact is through carrier pigeons but only to the man he is loyal to in local mob head Louie (John Tormey). After a hit was delivered, Louie’s bosses decided that Ghost Dog had to be eliminated where Louie informs Ghost Dog of what is to happen.
Jim Jarmusch’s screenplay is definitely engrossing for the way a man lives a very strict lifestyle that has him living by himself with only pigeons to keep him company while he has very few friends. One of which is a Haitian ice-cream man named Raymond (Isaach de Bankole) who only speaks French while he also befriends a young girl named Pearline (Camille Winbush) who loves books. Still, Ghost Dog is a man who operates in a very strict manner where he borrows cars to go somewhere that is beyond walking distance while maintaining a code in a world where honor and loyalty is waning as he’s being pursued by men who are trying to adjust to changing times where honor and loyalty don’t really mean anything. While Ghost Dog uses guns as weapons, he does it in a way that is similar to the ways of the samurai while sparing whoever are innocent including a mob boss’ daughter (Tricia Vessey) whom she let borrows her copy of the book Rashomon by Ryunosuke Akutagawa to Ghost Dog who lends it to Pearline.
There are a lot of allusions to the way Jarmusch explores the code of the samurai as he often injects the film with voice-over reading of Ghost Dog reading text from Yamamoto Tsunetomo’s book Hagakure. With the text also present in the film, it plays into the philosophy that Ghost Dog is trying to hold on to in a world that is changing and filled with lots of corruption and violence. While Ghost Dog is a man who kills, he is only doing it to save himself and Louie from harm since he owes Louie for saving his life. While the two men have different memories about the day Louie saved Ghost Dog’s life as a teen, they are drawn to each other as Louie is a man who also works under a code but a different one that is on its way out.
Jarmusch’s direction is quite straightforward in terms of his framing and presentation though there are a lot of tributes to the films that Jarmusch is basing on. Notably samurai movies and Jean-Pierre Melville’s 1967 film Le Samourai that features a similar story about a hitman who lives in a strict code inspired by the samurai. Shot on location in New Jersey, the film has unique look that plays to this world that seems ever-changing where the mob are trying to adjust to these changes. Yet, the Ghost Dog character is a man who only wears dark clothes and rarely interacts with people as he is a real sharp contrast to the people he works for. Still, Jarmusch infuses some humor in the way the Mafia is portrayed as there’s one mob leader who has a love for the music of Public Enemy as he spits out rhymes from their songs.
Another aspect in Jarmusch’s direction that is interesting is the fact that there are many scenes where the mob are watching cartoons that either plays to something that is foreshadowing or to reflect the dark world they live in. Jarmusch’s approach to the violence isn’t very graphic but still confrontational in the way Ghost Dog takes care of his foes. Some of it is done in a clever yet low-key fashion to represent Ghost Dog’s violent style where he does it swiftly and that is it. The scenes where Ghost Dog and Raymond interact where despite the language barrier, the two men do seem to understand each other a bit as it’s part of Jarmusch’s unique approach to some of the film’s humor. Overall, Jarmusch creates a very fascinating yet stylish film about a man maintaining a code of the samurai in the modern world.
Cinematographer Robby Muller does excellent work with the film‘s photography from some of the low-key lighting schemes at night to the more colorful scenes in the daytime interior and exterior settings. Editor Jay Rabinowitz does brilliant work with the film‘s very stylish editing with the use of layered dissolves to express a few flashback scenes and montages along with some jump-cuts and fade-outs to help present some of the text that Ghost Dog is reading. Production designer Ted Berner, with set decorator Ron von Blomberg and art director Mario Ventenilla, does nice work with the look of the apartment that Ghost Dog lives in as well as the ice cream truck that Raymond runs.
Costume designer John A. Dunn does terrific work with the costumes from the street-based clothing of Ghost Dog to the more refined suits the gangsters wear. Sound designer Anthony J. Ciccolini III does wonderful work with the sound to capture the intimacy of some of the film‘s violent scenes as well as low-key yet layered sounds of nature to express the kind of peace that Ghost Dog craves for. The film’s music by RZA is fantastic for its rhythmic yet intoxicating music that fuses hip-hop with low-key electronics to set a mood while its soundtrack is a nice mix of hip-hop and reggae that features music from RZA and some of his cohorts from the Wu-Tang Clan as well as Public Enemy and Willi Williams doing a cover of the Clash’s Armagideon Time.
The casting by Ellen Lewis and Laura Rosenthal is amazing for the ensemble that is created as it features appearances from Richard Portnow as the target Ghost Dog is hired to kill, Gary Farmer as a Native American pigeon farmer the Mafia harasses, RZA as another samurai Ghost Dog meets, and Gene Ruffini as an old consigliere. Other standout small roles include Cliff Gorman as a mob boss who loves Public Enemy and Henry Silva as a mob leader who orders Ghost Dog’s death. Tricia Vessey is very good as the daughter of the mob leader who always find herself in an assassination as she’s often spared. Camille Winbush is wonderful as the young girl Pearline whose interest in books has her befriending Ghost Dog who lends her a book. Isaach de Bankole is excellent as Ghost Dog’s Haitian friend Raymond as he always spout the good attributes of ice cream while often conversing with Raymond about things in life.
John Tormey is superb as Ghost Dog’s retainer Louie who is aware of Ghost Dog’s skills as he tries to save himself from the mob while dealing with all of the chaos that is happening while trying to maintain his own sense of honor. Finally, there’s Forest Whitaker in a riveting performance as Ghost Dog where Whitaker has this very low-key restraint to his performance that allows Ghost Dog to be a man of discipline but also a man full of life as he’s also quite charming as it is definitely one of Whitaker’s finest performances.
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is an incredible film from Jim Jarmusch that features a brilliant performance from Forest Whitaker. The film is definitely one of Jarmusch’s more accessible features as well as a great homage to the samurai movies. It’s also a film that explores a man’s desire to find peace and honor in a world ravaged by change and chaos. In the end, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is a phenomenal film from Jim Jarmusch.
Jim Jarmusch Films: Permanent Vacation - Stranger Than Paradise - Down By Law - Mystery Train - Night on Earth - Dead Man - Year of the Horse - Coffee & Cigarettes - Broken Flowers - The Limits of Control - Only Lovers Left Alive - Paterson - Gimme Danger - The Dead Don’t Die - (Father Mother Sister Brother) - The Auteurs #27: Jim Jarmusch
© thevoid99 2013
