High and Low (1963): One of the best crime movies ever made.
First, I would like to convey that this film is astounding and I just cannot stop thinking about it. It is a film that can purely be watched on the basis of its craft in filmmaking. But before I talk about that I would also like to tell you that this is my first film of Akira Kurosawa and yes that may be something that any ardent film enthusiast might not digest. I understand he is the legend in filmmaking and any ardent fan of cinema would tell you to watch his films just for the filmmaking itself. As a fan of cinema, myself I have always read and heard about Kurosawa but never got to watching any of his work. So, I decided finally to sit down and watch one of his films and of course everyone would suggest Seven Samurai (1954) as I have heard it is his most seminal work and a masterpiece of art and film. But I realized maybe I should savour that for sometime later after watching some of his other films and what caught my eye was a film called High and Low. It caught my eye mainly because of the genre itself and that is it’s a crime and police procedural and Crime is one of my favourite genres. So, I decided to watch High and Low first and I can tell you that it has entranced me.
High and Low is about a wealthy executive of a shoe company, where his driver’s son is kidnapped by mistake instead of his own son (who was the original target) which leads him to make decisions of an ethical dilemma. The first hour or so is situated only in one place and all the setting and drama occurs in that first hour. It is phenomenal as Kurosawa maintains pure drama between the characters through staging alone. The conflict between the executives or between Mr. Gondo and his driver or between Mr. Gondo and his assistant Mr. Kawanishi or between his wife. All of the conflict and staging works seamlessly and it truly is a master at work. I keep thinking about it and how the imagery stays in your head for a while. The staging is done in such a manner where the characters move and are placed and mannered based on their emotions of that situation. Kurosawa is known for his over exaggerated mannerisms of his characters but manages a perfection of cinematic finesse to it that I believe no director has done from my first viewing itself. There is a scene that takes place on a train that gives you an adrenaline rush and excitement. It has been shot with technical superiority where I can’t think of a film that gave me such goosebumps before.
The second half is entirely a police procedural and Kurosawa also reaps his magic of filmmaking in these scenes. Like for example a chunk of the first half and hour of the second part of the film takes place in a police station where the all the members of the investigation read out information of the case. Now that may sound boring but yet again it is staged and directed so wonderfully that it is engaging especially when a piece of very important information is conveyed the group of characters in the frame react simultaneously. Kurosawa is known for his seamless movements and usually shoots his scenes filled with groups of people. Another fantastic scene is when two police officers find two dead bodies and Kurosawa only shows the legs and in fact only frames the reaction of the two officers instead of showing the whole bodies of the deceased. It shows the subtlety of the artist.
Kurosawa maintains a wonderful structural and thematic point throughout the film where it tackles a problem with the rich and poor. It is at the end a conflict or drama between the wealthy executive and the poor kidnapper. Kurosawa had made the film post World War two Japan and tries to ask the question of a social hierarchy and is it really the fault of the individual here or is he questioning us if at the end it is only the individual person’s responsibility. Like I said the first half of the film is based in one place and that is in a luxurious house of Mr. Gondo and the second half tackles fully at the bottom rung. That is in poorly ventilated police stations or in Japan’s dark alleyways or in brothels. Kurosawa shows us this dichotomy and through this crime ridden story we are subtly shown a social ethical problem. This dichotomy is also shown by framing Mr. Gondo’s living room at the top where it is viewing the smog like city below.
Kurosawa also maintains the questioning morality throughout the film. Mr. Gondo is at first very reluctant to give the money demanded by the ransom as he is in a state of dilemma through his position in the company or through his moral obligation of being a noble man. But throughout the film he is portrayed as a noble man. One great aspect about this is that Kurosawa is telling us that not all rich men are bad and the decision that Mr. Gondo takes tells us that he is willing to sacrifice his place and entitlement for the betterment of another. I feel that this questioning of morality is very important as it tackles something even today and questioning us on how criminals are born in this society and how they view themselves because of the world they were born in.
The climax is just near perfect as it is only a confrontation between Mr. Gondo and the kidnapper and it tackles with their morality or perspective in the world. It ends perfectly to one of the best crime movies ever made.
High and Low is definitely one of my favourite movies I have watched in a long time. Mixed with social commentary and morality with a fantastic crime story directed by one of the legends of cinema history makes it a must watch.