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Published in U.S. 1 Newspaper on April 12, 2000. All rights reserved.
The Movies
E-mail: JackFlorek@princetoninfo.com
Early on in Jim Jarmusch’s latest film "Ghost Dog:
The Way of the Samurai," the hero, played by Forest Whitaker,
intones these words: "Every day, without fail, one should consider
oneself as dead." It is wise to imagine oneself being torn apart
by wild animals, he continues, or dropped from a great cliff, or slowly
giving in to fatal illness. His is not the sort of philosophy spouted
by your standard Hollywood hero.
But of course, Jim Jarmusch is not a standard Hollywood man, but a
highly original independent filmmaker. And this is a good reason to
see "Ghost Dog."
Jim Jarmusch is part of the American independent film movement that
began in the late 1950s and ’60s with the startlingly original work
of John Cassavetes. Through such works as "Faces" and "A
Woman Under the Influence," Cassavetes spawned a generation of
bold cinematic artists unwilling to knuckle under to the demands of
big Hollywood money. The films of Elaine May, Spike Lee, Barbara Loden,
and John Sayles are strong representatives of the power of film as
art.
"Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai" is Jarmusch’s eighth film
and it is marked by his quirky originality. It is sinister comedy,
a dark amalgamation of rap and hip-hop music, 18th-century Eastern
philosophy, 1940s style gangster, and buckets of blood.
While the mixing of cultures is not something one runs across in Hollywood
offerings, for Jarmusch it is a standard fare and an important element
of his work. "To make a film about America," he told Rolling
Stone Magazine in a 1985 interview, "it seems logical to have
at least one perspective that’s transplanted here from some other
culture, because ours is a collection of transplanted influences."
In his 1984 film, "Stranger Than Paradise," Jarmusch gives
us a Hungarian girl in love with the music of Screaming Jay Hawkins.
In 1989’s "Mystery Train," a teenaged couple travels from
Japan to Memphis in search of the ghost of Elvis Presley. In his 1995
film, "Dead Man," we are presented with a kind of psychedelic
western.
Ghost Dog (Forest Whitaker) is a professional hit-man who follows
a code of honor gleaned from his readings of "Hagakure, the Book
of Samurai," an 18th-century Japanese text. Ghost Dog considers
himself to be a Samurai warrior, the last of a dying breed. One of
the more astounding features of this film is that, while Ghost Dog
is a man of honor and loyalty, he earns his living as a virtuoso hit
man.
To someone used to seeing predictable Hollywood shoot-em-up-with-a-smile
movies, with safe, predictable characters fighting for safe predictable
gains, the edges of Jarmusch’s films can be missed. What seems like
carelessness or corniness on the filmmakers part is in fact aimed
right at the audience’s throat. A certain amount of openness and trust
is needed to view this movie properly.
So support your local independent filmmaker before they too, like
the samurai warrior and the traditional mob clan, become a dying breed.
— Jack Florek
NJ Film Festival
Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center. Screenings are Fridays through
Sunday in Scott Hall, Room 123, College Avenue campus. Thursday screenings
are in Loree Hall, Room 024, Douglass College campus, near the corner
of Nichol Avenue and George Street. All programs begin at 7 p.m.;
admission $5 to $10. Call 732-932-8482.
post-colonial India. In Hindi, Urdu, Parsee, and Punjabi, with subtitles.
$5, Friday and Saturday, April 14 and 15.
year’s Oscar, preceded by Cannes and the Golden Globe), set in Madrid
and Barcelona, about a woman who loses her only son and sets out on
a quest to find his wayward father. Subtitles; $5, Friday through
Sunday, April 21 to 23.
Japanese New Wave
East Asian Studies Program. Screenings Mondays at 7 p.m. in the James
Stewart Film Theater, 185 Nassau Street. Free. 609-258-5722.
a barrage of surreal dreamscapes, about two cousins living together
in mutual desire, Monday, April 17.
Second Chance Cinema
Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. at Kresge Auditorium, Princeton University.
$5. 609-683-1101.
and Thandie Norton as two lonely exiles trying to make connections
through an emotional force field, Wednesday, April 12.
shared Cannes’ Best Actress award as two young women knocking about
Lille in search of work and human connection. Erick Zonka directs,
Wednesday, April 19.
Top Of Page
Mainstream Movies
Confirm titles with theaters.
year’s Oscar, preceded by Cannes and the Golden Globe), set in Madrid
and Barcelona, about a woman who loses her only son and sets out on
a quest to find his wayward father. Regal.
Spacey star in Sam Mendes’ dark comedy about dysfunctional suburban
families. Winner of five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. AMC,
Loews, Mercer, Montgomery, Regal.
Junior, Claudia Schiffer, and Ben Stiller all appear in this film
about how privileged white kids explore hip-hop culture. AMC,
Destinta, Loews, Marketfair, Regal.
at a firm where the cost of success is high. Written and directed
by Ben Younger. Mercer.
for her gender-bending performance in the true story of a girl named
Teena posing as a boy named Brandon. Directed by Kimberly Pierce.
AMC, Loews, Mercer.
best supporting actor in his role as the doctor in the screen version
of John Irving’s bestseller. Directed by Lasse Hallstrom, it won Irving
the Oscar for Best Screenplay Adaptation. AMC, MarketFair,
Montgomery, Regal.
bent on revealing both her cleavage and the polluting sins of a California
power company. AMC, Destinta, Garden, Loews, Mercer, Montgomery,
Regal.
air crash survivor in peril. AMC, Destinta, Loews, MarketFair,
Regal.
as a focused, futuristic hit man. AMC.
who teaches them a lesson about living. AMC, Loews, Marketfair.
record store whose business is failing. AMC, Loews, Marketfair,
Regal.
this romantic comedy with Ben Stiller and Jen Elfman. AMC, Regal.
to discover what destroyed the first Mars landers. AMC, Loews,
Mercer, Regal.
stars in a film version of Willie Morris’ book about a lonely young
boy who finds friendship in a Jack Russell terrier. Mercer, Regal.
to build his sons into champion boxers. AMC, Loews.
shot at their dream of meeting their wrestling idol. AMC, Destinta,
Loews, Mercer, Regal.
(X-Files) and Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting). AMC, Loews, Marketfair,
Montgomery, Regal.
two men who stumble upon the legendary city of gold, with music by
Elton John. AMC, Destinta, Loews, Marketfair, Montgomery, Regal.
AMC, Destinta, Loews, Marketfair, Regal.
trial for war crimes and finds an advocate in Tommy Lee Jones. AMC,
Destinta, Garden, Loews, Marketfair, Montgomery, Regal.
man drawn into a secret society reminiscent of Yale’s. AMC, Destinta,
Loews, Marketfair, Regal.
adaptation of Shakespeare’s "Titus Andronicus," a ruler who
descends into madness. Mercer.
confusion caused by E-mail. AMC, Loews, Mercer.
Michael Douglas tries to grow up. AMC.
Top Of Page
Venues
AMC Hamilton, 325 Sloan Avenue, I-295 Exit 65A, 609-890-8307.
24-screen, stadium-seating multiplex. $7; $5 matinees; $5 twilight.
Destinta, Independence Plaza, 2465 South Broad Street,
Hamilton, 609-888-4500. Stadium-seating 12-screen multiplex. $6.75
adults; $5 matinees.
East Windsor Cinemas, Routes 130 and 571, 609-443-9295.
$3 adults; $2.50 matinees.
Garden Theater, 160 Nassau Street, 609-683-7595. $6.50
adults; $4 matinees.
Loews Theaters, Route 1 South, New Brunswick, 732-846-9200.
Stadium-seating multiplex. $8.50 adults; $5.25 matinees.
MarketFair-UA, Route 1 South, 609-520-8700. $7.50
adults; $4.75 matinees.
Mercer Mall General Cinemas, Route 1, 609-452-2868.
$7.25 adults; $4.75 matinees.
Montgomery Center Theater, Routes 206 and 518,
609-924-7444. $7 adults; $4.25 matinees.
Regal Cinemas Town Center Plaza, 319 Route 130 North,
East Windsor, 609-371-8473. Stadium-seating, 15 screens. $8 adults;
$5 matinees.
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