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High and Low
(1963),
Director: Akira Kurosawa, Not rated (Dad's guess:
PG)
A
senseless and vicious crime is investigated.
  Interviews:
Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyōko Kagawa, Tatsuya Mihashi,
Kenjiro Ishiyama, Isao Kimura, Takeshi Katō, Yutaka Sada,
Tsutomu Yamazaki, Takashi Shimura
DML Rating:
★★★★★★★★★☆
- near perfect
"I'm not interested in
self-analysis. I do know my room was so cold in winter and so
hot in summer I couldn't sleep. Your house looked like heaven,
high up there. That's how I began to hate you" – Ginjirô
Takeuchi, medical intern
Why watch this?
Crime doesn't just exist in America. This is an education on
Japanese police work.
Plot Summary:
This story centers on a wealthy industrialist whose plans to
take over his company are jeopardized when a man calls claiming
to have kidnapped his son. The situation takes a dramatic turn
when it is revealed that the kidnapper has mistakenly abducted
the chauffeur's child instead. The film then becomes a gripping
police procedural as authorities work to locate the perpetrator
and bring the child home safely.
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Dad's Preview:
This layered police procedural thriller explores how classes of
citizens create gaps that can be filled with resentment and
hate. The kidnapping target is a rich businessman, Gondō's, son
Jun. However, by mistake, his chauffeur's son is taken. There is
an intense police manhunt to find the boy, but bigger questions
loom. Should Gondō pay the same sizeable ransom for this
worker's son? Why does the kidnapper hate him? This film by
legendary director Akira Kurosawa contains incredible moments,
many of which have been copied by many crime thrillers to
follow. What I really appreciate is the meticulous sense of
realism. This reminds me of
The Wrong Man
(1956), Hitchcock's equally realistic effort. Both give the
viewer the affect that you are seeing things, the exciting and
the boring, as they actually would occur.
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Kurosawa
Films, Toho |
