Spotlight

Spotlight Date: 27-July-08
Spoiler Rating: Low

High and Low (1963)

This dramatic thriller by Akira Kurosawa was released to English markets outside the United States as "Heaven and Hell," which I understand was a literal translation from the Japanese. It could just as easily have been called "Rich and Poor" or "Right and Wrong" or even "Ordeal and Aftermath" to match the structure of the story. Based on an American detective novel, the film mixes genres to describe a kidnapping as both the result and the catalyst of disturbing social circumstances.

The main victim of the crime is a shoe company executive named Mr. Gondo (Kurosawa's great collaborator Toshiro Mifune). The first hour of the movie feels like a stage play taking place in his living room, where the tension derives from a decision he has to make. His company is in crisis because several other executives want to abandon the honor of craftsmanship for the sole pursuit of profit (no pun intended). Gondo refuses to throw in his holdings with them to form a controlling majority and, after they leave in a huff, reveals to his sniveling protégé (Tatsuya Mihashi) that he has secretly secured more stock in the company to gain control himself. It is a huge gamble involving his good name and entire fortune, but Gondo needs only to deliver a large sum of money that very night and it could pay off. Then the phone rings. At first it appears that Gondo's son has been kidnapped — but no, the kidnapper has made a mistake and taken the chauffeur's son instead. No matter, he wants an enormous ransom from Gondo or the boy will die. With less important people like his wife (Kyoko Kagawa) and the chauffeur (Yutaka Sada) standing tearfully by, Gondo deliberates where to put his hard-earned money. Is a servant's son's life worth his own career and comfort?

Morning breaks and plans are set in motion, allowing High and Low to switch from a morality tale steeped in Japanese culture to an out-of-doors police chase. Focus shifts from Gondo, his decision made, to Inspector Tokura (Tatsuya Nakadai), the kind and capable officer intent on finding the kidnapper and making sure he gets the stiffest possible sentence. While I do not share the entertainment industry's fascination with cops, I must admit that this movie casts a spell with a thorough account of how the investigation is conducted, even down to staff meetings. (It is the detail-oriented part of me which digs dossiers, pocket notebooks of collected data, and wall maps with little pins sticking out of them.) The perpetrator finally identified (Tsutomu Yamazaki) also makes quite an impression despite limited screen time. Wearing reflective sunglasses that call to mind Elijah Wood's sadistic freak in Sin City, he leads the police on a harrowing trip through the drug underworld. At last it comes full circle as he meets Mr. Gondo face-to-face: tradition versus modernity, calculated calm versus angst-ridden madness, a have versus a have-not. The last scene is unforgettable, causing one to wish that the world were not as rigid as Gondo would have it nor as hopeless as the criminal would.

Copyright © 2008 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.