High and Low

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Insomniac X A chilling and masterful hybrid of social drama and procedural thriller. Kurosawa begins with a rarefied moral dilemma fit for Greek tragedy before taking his audience on a harrowing descent into the heart of poverty, violence and addiction that makes the torturous decisions of the first act seem trivial by comparison. Deftly balances an array of disparate tones before concluding with one of the most haunting final scenes in cinema. One of Kurosawa's finest. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/07/25 Full Review Leprechaun K A masterpiece by Kurosawa. Some 60+ years later and it still holds as a great crime-suspense thriller. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/28/25 Full Review Sam N It feels almost blasphemous to criticise anything Kurosawa touches, but High and Low didn't grip me as much as other works I've seen. That's not to say it isn't a fascinating film—its dual narratives make for an intriguing watch. The first is a morality play, dissecting how wealth and the threat to it can bend a person's ethics. At times, though, it feels like the film is too apologetic towards the wealthy, suggesting their moral compromises are innocent necessities. At the same time, the poor are portrayed mainly as a criminal underclass who cannot be reformed. The second narrative, a detailed police procedural with clear film-noir influences, is arguably the most impactful, having left its mark on countless films since and earning our appreciation and respect for its impact on the cinematic world. Despite its strengths, by the final act, I found myself enduring the runtime rather than thoroughly enjoying it. It's an undeniably solid film, but not quite Kurosawa at his most transcendent. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/09/25 Full Review Jay W I like Kurosawa, he makes great films, even if they don't have samurai. "High and Low" is another great film from a legendary director. Everything is framed and staged to perfection. The dialogue is tightly written, and the setup is a clever premise. Kidnappers call "National Shoes" company manager ransoming his son. They then find out that the criminals abducted the wrong kid. The man, Kingo Gondo, then has the moral dilemma of what to do. The main problem in this film happens in the final 20 minutes. I won't go into spoilers but suffice it to say that after 2 hours of tight suspenseful writing, the movie takes an overly long detour. The ending itself is great, it is just the 20-minute extra step that kills its momentum. But overall, its highs definitely outweigh its lows. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/20/24 Full Review Milo F While innovative, Heaven & Hell/High & Low is also laboured & wildly uneven. It progresses through three or four genres, and not all of them work. Some of the 'policier' or crime procedural devices have made appearances in other Asian films, eg Dust for Dust. It is difficult to avoid bursting out in laughter at the corny ending, for which culty AK fans will not forgive you. Suggest sitting close to an exit. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 05/02/24 Full Review ben j Didn't expect this to instantly become one of my favorite movies of all time. It's almost overwhelmingly suspenseful and thrilling. I love both "halves" of the movie—the first 50 minutes of debating about what to do and answering calls from the aubductor, and the rest of the movie being the greatest police procedural I've ever seen as they track down the criminal. An otherwise basic story becomes infused with meaning about themes like duty, honor, existentialism, and most importantly the split between the "high" and "low" in society, whether that be class, status, moral nature, or how high one's house is, overlooking all the other ones "like it's laughing at them." Kurosawa is a master of his craft, everyone should see this. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/13/24 Full Review Read all reviews

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