Dead Man – A Western with a soul

“It is preferable not to travel with a dead man.” --- Henri Michaux

Jim Jarmaush’s 1995 release which subsequently gained a cult following among Indie movie lovers is the auteur’s best known work.

The movie subtly presents the spiritual journey, though on the surface it appears temporal, of one William Blake. And our William Blake is an accountant, not the great English mystic poet. The naïve, educated Blake (played to perfection by Johnny Depp) arrives at the frontier town of Machine, which is too cruel for his mild mannered nature, for a job in a company he has been assured of.

After learning it the hard way from the firm’s megalomaniac owner that the position of accountant has been taken, he has a chance encounter with a former prostitute named Thel Russell who takes him home. There he finds himself in a quagmire after Thel’s fiancé, who happens to be the son of the firm’s owner, appears in the scene. The confrontation leaves Blake mortally wounded even as he shoots Thel’s fiancé and goes on the run.

As Blake’s journey progresses, he undergoes a gradual yet drastic metamorphosis, all guided by a spirited and enigmatic Native American, who calls himself ‘Nobody’. The North American, who is disowned by his tribe for being way too European in his ways, believes that Blake is indeed a reincarnation of the 18th century mystic poet, and is now, ‘a killer of white men’.

Nobody then embarks on a journey with Blake all the while inculcating native ideas of spirituality in him. The duo encounters nihilistic bounty hunters, unrelenting U.S. marshals, devastated native territories and a bigoted missionary. These events bring to fore the racial subjugation the indigenous communities faced from their white counterparts in those times.

It has references to the events wherein small pox infected blankets were given to the natives by the European settlers leading to massive outbreaks in native colonies and the wiping out of their population.

The movie is noted for its apt portrayal of Native American culture, especially its spiritual side. Nobody appears to be an evolved soul who helps the “stupid white man” Blake on the latter’s journey to the spirit world.

The movie has numerous references to William Blake’s poetry. This being a favourite of Nobody:

Every Night & every Morn

Some to Misery are Born

Every Morn and every Night

Some are Born to sweet delight

Some are Born to sweet delight

Some are Born to Endless Night (Auguries of Innocence)

He also quotes this one:

The eagle never lost so much times as when he submitted to learn from the crow. (Proverbs of Hell)

Unlike most movies of the Western genre and its numerous sub-genres Dead Man has a soul. Add to that the profound spiritual message it delivers, the haunting poetry, the psychedelic background score composed by Neil Young and the visually stunning black-and-white cinematography, Dead Man leaves the viewer in a trance-like state.  10/10