Akira Kurosawa’s aptly named crime drama High and Low handles the kidnapping premise marvelously by splitting the film into two distinct parts--the first bringing the tension to a boil in a single, constrained location that operates more like a stage play than a movie. The tension is prepared when the head of a shoe company, Gondo—played by Toshiro Mifune with a stirring mix of expressive, explosive moments and ambiguous ones— receives a phone call right before he readies his saved money for a long-awaited buy-out of the company. A kidnapper calls, alerts Gondo that his son is being held captive and demands a high ransom, which would essentially bankrupt him. The situation quickly becomes complicated when the kidnapper realizes he has accidently taken Gondo’s chauffer’s child, but still demands the payment all the same. Gondo is forced to choose between the moral choice and one of personal gain. The ensuing drama proves surprisingly intense.
Kurosawa treats the high and low, heaven and hell contrast effectively by playing them up and then twisting our expectations. Gondo lives in a big, beautiful house on the top of a high hill that stares down condescendingly upon the city, slums and all. Amidst the squalor hides the lowly kidnapper who challenges Gondo’s high and mighty position, forcing him into a tight corner. When Gondo learns the chauffer’s son is kidnapped, we’d expect him to act with a high degree of morality and immediately pay the ransom, but he hesitates and this is where Kurosawa finds his hook.
While the plot also consists of the typical death threats and money pick-up scenes common in kidnapping films, it is this high/low dichotomy (and the whittling away of it) that keeps the film going. Incidentally, the film’s only major problem is in following the contrast a little too closely. When the second half of the story moves from the high house into the lower city streets where the detectives search for the kidnapper, the tension actually becomes less appealing—that is until the film’s memorable, final scene.
Still, viewers afraid to venture beyond Kurosawa’s samurai films should leave their worries behind. He can handle drama in any setting and any time period and High and Low just about proves it.
Reviewed by Tarun
