Review of High and Low (1963) by Familiar S — 13 Jan 2012

Kurosawa does noir, and (no surprise) it's great. I wouldn't put this up with his other greats, but it's immensely entertaining and technically very impressive. The social commentary is laid on pretty thick, but it never detracts from the plot.

I will say, I enjoyed the first 50 minutes of the film more than the last half. It's very impressive since it almost all takes place within a single room. It is also when the single most important decision in the film is made, and the emotional impact resonates through the rest of the film. In addition, the long cuts must have been very difficult to shoot. The cinematography is equally impressive, without a wasted space. The second half is a pretty standard detective procedural, but still very well done and keeps you interested until the end with an especially eerie moment in an alley filled with heroin junkies.

Going back tot he social commentary, I'll finally add, that there's an important point made in a somewhat throwaway line that will probably be lost on a non-Japanese audience. The Toshiro Mifune character mentions starting off early in a shoe factory and working his way up. This means he'd have been working with leather, which gives him 'burakumin' (untouchable) status, making some of the moments, statements, and choices a little more poignant.