High and Low (1963) [Film Review]

High and Low; or, CSI: Japan

Instead of jumping into the deep end with firstly reviewing prominent films of Japanese cinema (like Seven Samurai (1965), Tokyo Story (1953), and Harakiri (1962), all of which can be described in simple terms as epic), I decided to go for something classic but often unnoticed in the modern day. Needless to say, the movie I want to talk about is an exciting crime story made by Akira Kurosawa called High and Low.

Release Info

Directed by: Akira Kurosawa Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyōko Kagawa 
Language: Japanese Original Title: Tengoku to jikogu Runtime: 140 min

Plot

The film centres on a wealthy businessman called Gondo (Toshiro Mifune) who is an executive in a shoe-making company. One day, his associates meet up with him and offer Gondo to participate in a conspiracy to buy out the company for themselves. Gondo, nevertheless, refuses to do so, because he has already gathered enough money to do the takeover on his own. Yet, shortly after the departure of his colleagues, Gondo receives a phone call during which the mysterious voice at the other side of the line tells him that his son, Jun, has been kidnapped. However, shortly after this confusing conversation, Gondo’s son enters the room. It turns out that the kidnapper (Tsutomu Yamazaki) accidentally abducted not Jun but the chauffer’s child, Shinichi…

American Crime Story- Made in Japan

On the basis of the provided plot it may seem that the movie will be some silly comedy of mistakes or a failed adaptation of Agatha Christie, however it’s none of these. In fact, Kurosawa loosely relied on the plot from the book entitled King’s Ransom by the American crime fiction writer Ed McBain. Whereas the beginning of High and Low quite closely follows the events from the book, the further the movie goes, the more it becomes Kurosawa’s own story.

Actually, the movie contains two separate stories. The first is the story of Gondo. A prosperous entrepreneur who finds himself between a rock and a hard place. After mortgaging everything he owns, all he has left is 30 million yen that he can now use either to complete the buyout of the company or to pay the ransom for the kidnapped boy. Obviously, if it had been for his son, he would have not hesitated a second, but in this case… the man may lose his whole wealth and save a child, or become richer and have blood on his hands. With this dilemma Kurosawa presents to us his own critique of capitalism, to what extent it can deprive a human being of morality and conscience. Gondo is the paragon of capitalist success but due to the situation he has found himself in, he undergoes a purifying change. He eventually decides to pay the ransom and after the return of the child he becomes a hero of the public, completely broke, but still a hero.

The second story, starting halfway through the film, is about Detective Tokura’s (Tatsuya Nakadai) pursuit after the kidnapper. Police officers, astonished by Gondo’s ultimate sacrifice, resolve to do anything they can in order to find the culprit and reclaim the ransom. From this point on, a thorough investigation ensues with numerous threads being uncovered that may lead to the kidnapper. The viewers feel as if they are part of the investigation team by participating in elaborate briefings, during which every detail is discussed, and also in the field, with the officers searching on the streets. All in all, we know that the bad guy is eventually tracked down, yet is he really so bad as he seems? Kurosawa blurs the binary oppositions for us. However, the righteous cops apparently have no doubts because they don’t want the guy to serve only 15 years in jail for the kidnap, but instead get a death sentence. In order to do this, they cleverly lure him to re-enact his crime.

Between Heaven and Hell

Although, the film is called High and Low, its direct translation from Japanese should be Heaven and Hell; and indeed, this is the movie about Heaven (Gondo’s life) and Hell (the kidnapper’s life). Gondo lives high above other people both literally and figuratively, whereas the kidnapper lives a pitiful existence that eventually leads him to his own damnation. The two characters confront each other in the film’s final scene, and apart from feeling sorry for the two characters, we can infer Kurosawa’s message to us: that humility in life is salvation.

 

Recommendations

I recommend this particular movie to anyone who is into crime stories, likes Kurosawa, or would simply like to see something interesting and highly engaging. In my opinion, High and Low is definitely one of the best crime movies ever made, with excellent acting and a brilliant script. Give it a go and you surely won’t regret it.

Overall score: 9/10