You Need To See High & Low

With the news Spike Lee would be tackling the Kurosawa classic “High & Low” I decided to give myself an education by actually watching it. I have now joined the ranks of film nerds who will badger you to watch everything Akira Kurosawa has ever made because it really is that great.

High & Low splits into two parts. The first half of the film primarily centers in the home of a businessman as he fights with his board members over the direction of the business. Reveal after reveal is made with perfect pacing to slowly ratchet up the tension until finally the police are involved and camping out at his home. It feels like a play that movie cameras just happen to be perfectly capturing. As such so much relies on the actors to carry the emotion and tension pulsing through the room. I never knew balled shaking fists could carry so much nervous energy. This section presents a moral dilemma that leaves the audience asking what they’d do in this situation.

The second half is something like a police procedural as the cops try to narrow down the criminal involved in the first half and where he lives. It lulls somewhat but the twists and turns keep coming to keep you riveted throughout. Handheld footage used early in this section fully immerses you if the storytelling hadn’t already. The film keeps you on the edge of your seat to the very last shot.

There aren’t many movies as good as this one. I’m not even sure modernising it could improve it in any way at all. Spike Lee has a high bar to clear that frankly very few directors or movies ever have.