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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 18, 2000)
‘Ghost Dog’ a complex flick ■The samurai film offers great acting by Forest Whitaker and masterful directing from indie auteur Jim Jarmusch By Eric Pfeiffer Oregon Daily Emerald Slide into your movie seat and focus on the moment. Ghost Dog is your 90-minute retainer. After you’ve watched the events of this film unfold, con template the interwoven com plexities of the empty popcorn bucket and relax as your mind an ticipates the soothing simplicity of your 9 a.m. physics midterm. Sound ridiculous, intriguing or perhaps both? The critically-acclaimed new film, starring Forest Whitaker, di rected by Jim Jarmusch and with a powerful soundtrack from RZA, takes viewers on a multi-layered journey, exploring topics ranging from spirituality to the cultural significance of hip-hop music. The movie plot sounds some thing like an old B-movie samu rai flick from the 1960s. And it is, plus countless other elements all at once. Whitaker plays Ghost Dog, a samurai in modern-day Detroit, with a life-debt to his retainer Louie (John Tormey). Twelve years earlier, Louie saved Ghost Dog’s life from a gang of street thugs. Shortly thereafter, he ap pears at Louie’s-doorstep, offering his unique services. Whenever Louie; or someone from his “fam ily” needs to make a hit on a local thug, he can call in Ghost Dog to take care of business. Not by cell-phone or pager, but by pigeon. Ghost Dog lives alone, in a tiny shack, on the roof of an apartment building in downtown Detroit. His possessions are of only the most basic necessity: a bed, pi geon food and a CD player to lis ten to his favorite rap music. Using one of several dozen car rier pigeons to communicate with Louie on a daily basis, Ghost Dog sends and receives instructions for his next assignment. Things have gone this way for more than 10 years, until a mo ment of chance alters Ghost Dog’s life and sets the movie’s plot into motion. The movie plot sounds something like an old B-movie samurai flick from the 1960s. And it is, plus countless other ele ments all at once. ▲▲ While performing his most re cent hit on a relative of the family, Ghost Dog leaves behind a young woman at the scene. She wasn’t supposed to be there, so he feels no reason to end her life. However, we soon learn that this woman is the daughter of a family leader. The only accept able retribution for this fatal mis take is another killing. But this time, it’s Ghost Dog who is being hunted. Louie does his best to convince the family otherwise, but it’s his life or Ghost Dog’s, and probably both. Ghost Dog is then left with the dual responsibility of defend ing his own life and maintaining his loyalty to Louie while at the same time killing all of his col leagues. Whitaker is exceptional in his performance. Silent for most of the film, he periodically narrates text from the Hagakure, an 18th century book of samurai code that serves as his spiritual guide. Even in near silence, Whitaker conveys a wealth of rich emo tions, ranging from the cold bru tality he unleashes on the Italian mob, to the unconditional kind ness and generosity he lavishes upon an immigrant ice-cream vendor and a young girl whom he meets in a local park. The film is directed by Jim Jar musch, who in 1996 gave us Dead Man, starring Johnny Depp. He has also directed music videos for the Talking Heads, Tom Waits and Neil Yojung. Jarmusch does a brilliant job with the screenplay he also wrote, taking what ap pears on the surface to be a sim ple tale of violence and weaving it into a masterpiece of quality writing,' convincing acting and the best hip-hop soundtrack ever produced. In its own right, the soundtrack gives us more aesthetic and rhythmic satisfaction than most films do in their entirety. RZA, the genius producer behind the Wu-Tang Clan, has produced a soundtrack of the highest quality, one that both enriches the story line and provides a hypnotic mood for the film’s setting. Don’t be fooled by the lacklus ter previews or the guy sitting next to you who thinks sound tracks should only be done by El ton John. This is a film worth see ing, more than once. Coppola s debut film uplifting ■ Virgin Suicides is a visually compelling ghost story with romance, a bit of humor and a wealth of good spirit By Eric Pfeiffer Oregon Daily Emerald It’s okay to see a movie by your self. At least that’s what I kept telling myself on my way to the Bijou last weekend, as I carried my note book and smuggled junk food into the theater for the premiere of “The Virgin Suicides.” Two hours later, I couldn’t have been happier for the soli tude. Not because it was a terri ble film. Just the opposite. This first-time offering from director Sophia Coppola is a work of art that would make dad proud. And it’s a great film to think about afterward. I love watching movies. When I was six years old, I saw “Return of the Jedi” seven times in the theater. When I was eleven, I se cretly took the bus into the city to watch the midnight sneak pre view of the first Batman film. And a few years ago, I broke-up with a girl because she and her mom dragged me to see “The English Patient.” And they loved it. As a film, “The Virgin Sui cides” succeeds on many levels. First, the leverage of Francis Ford Coppola, who produced the film, cannot be denied. Would a first-time filmmaker get the sup port of James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Danny Devito, Kirsten Dunst and an assortment of other big-name players for their direc torial debut? Probably not. But this is far from a case of daddy’s girl does good. Sophia Coppola takes the wealth of talent and delivers a film of exceptional value. The story revolves around five young women, the Lisbon girls, growing up in 1970s Michigan. At the onset of the film, we are introduced to the story through the narrative voice of a group of young boys who were fascinated by the girls and continue to be haunted by their ghosts 25 years later. The youngest Lisbon, 13-year CC At the onset of the film, we are introduced to the story through the narrative voice of a group of young boys who we re fascinated by the girls and continue to be haunted by their ghosts 25 years later. yy old Cecilia, has just attempted to commit suicide. Through the boy’s narration, we learn that she will be successful in her second try, and the rest of Lisbon girls will soon follow suit. You might think this sets the stage for a depressing power house of gothic proportions. It doesn’t. The film is uplifting, very humorous and filmed with a strong sense of visual poetics. Coppola lets us into the final days of the Lisbon girls, as they struggle for happiness and an an swer to their sister’s death. James Woods and Kathleen Turner both deliver great per formances as the protective par ents of the Lisbon girls. However, even in their overbearing, tumul tuous, Catholic parenting, it’s dif ficult not to like the parents. Es pecially Woods, who reveals a depth to his character that would easily be overlooked by less tal ented actors.* The supporting cast is tops as well. Kirsten Dunst is Lux, the most outgoing of the Lisbon chil dren. Her world erupts with sex ual energy as she begins to dis cover boys, alcohol and the new cultural revolution, i.e. drugs. In hot pursuit of Lux is Trip Fontaine (Josh Hartnett), the school’s heartthrob and cultural revolutionary, i.e. doper. Ad mired by all the other school girls, he only has eyes for Lux, who continually denounces his calling. It’s a young romance that revels in its ethereal shedding of innocence. The film’s soundtrack was pro duced by the French band Air. The group’s synth-retro feel fits exquis itely into the film's context, as they reveal a darker sound not heard on previous releases. I bought the film’s soundtrack about a month before the film premiered, and it was the perfect gateway into this other-worldly collage of wonder, wisdom and death. There are a few weak points to the film: more time could have been given in some of the charac ter development, and some of the film’s questions are unnecessarily left unresolved. But overall it’s a fabulous debut from Coppola and, hopefully, a promise for another generation of great films from the Coppola family. University of Oregon Dance Department I GROUND ZERO: Reinventing Dance in the Year 2000 Spring Student Dance Concert • 8 pm, May 18-20 Dougherty Dance Theatre 346-3386 * $3,students/$6 general From mild to EXCL It doesn't lictve to be dirty to be good. 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