Half family drama stage play, half noir police mystery, the film executes both extremely well.
This is now my second Kurosawa movie after Seven Samurai, and once again I thoroughly enjoyed the film from start to finish. But I have to say I think Seven Samurai is more to my personal tastes. My main gripe, and it really is quite minor, is that sometimes in High and Low the emotional and theatrical acting can get a bit bombastic considering the otherwise cool noir film setting. The larger‑than‑life characters fight more with the samurai setting, as the characters are literally fighting for their life. Don’t get me wrong, the stakes are extremely high in High and Low, and most of the time, especially in the first act, I did love aspects of the more theatrical setting in the mid‑century modern home of Gondo.
The framing as each supporting character enters the room, the villain looking through the window inspecting the room, and our vantage point on the room truly feel like witnessing a brilliantly captivating stage play. But as the film progresses and it breaks out of its stage play environment, some of the over‑expressive acting can clash with the noir tones and the more serious demeanour of many of the police force. To be clear, this is an extremely minor gripe for me and more just serves to distinguish it against Seven Samurai. In that setting, Kikuchiyo, who is played by the same actor as Gondo, has a similarly extravagant personality, but I find it fits the setting and plot slightly better. I am not saying I want an aloof Brando‑style performance, but I just felt at times it was a bit much for my taste.
Now that my singular gripe is out of the way, I want to mention the brilliant pacing of this film. The two‑act structure of the ransom and then the investigation is incredibly engaging, and both halves perfectly know when it is time to introduce a new family dynamic or a new clue for the investigation squad. I didn’t feel for a second the film dragged. I do think that is a testament to many things, but for me it’s principally down to the pacing of how the plot is unravelled for the viewer. Obviously the film is filled with charismatic side characters and visually is stunning, but the intrigue surrounding the investigation in the second half really kept me on the edge of my seat.
The way Kurosawa uses space in the first half is brilliant. Gondo’s hilltop house looks down on the whole city, framing the family above everyone. Yet, once down into the streets for the ransom drop, the camera gets shaky and the framing goes chaotic. It’s like his whole world falls apart just through how it’s shot.
I really look forward to getting to watch more of Kurosawa’s work, but I do anticipate the samurai‑adjacent films will be more to my taste. This film is a high recommendation from me, but then again you likely don’t need me to tell you that Kurosawa makes great movies.
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