Review of High and Low (1963) by Edith N — 15 Apr 2009

Kurosawa was long, and accurately, considered the most Westernized of Japanese directors. Seldom is it more evident than here, in [i]Tengoku to jigoku[/i] (literally translates to "Heaven and Hell"), which is actually genuinely based on an American mystery novel. I must admit that I've never read an Ed McBain novel, though I may have to start here. This movie is based on the novel [i]King's Ransom[/i], though I have no idea, obviously, how closely. Of course, Kurosawa has transferred the whole thing to Japan, as I'm not sure he ever set anything anywhere else. He even works in that most Japanese of landmarks, Mount Fuji. He works in the bullet train. This is a very Japanese version of a very American story, and I think perhaps only Kurosawa was capable of doing that sort of thing.

Kingo Gondo (Toshirô Mifune, of course) is an executive at the National Shoe Company. The other executives want to take over the company and make poor-quality shoes which will sell more and sell quickly, because they will wear out. Gondo wants to make good shoes, which will not sell as often but will be worth the price. He has slowly been buying up stock so that he will have enough to take over the company and run things his way. However, he receives a phone call saying that his son, Jun (Toshio Egi), has been kidnapped. However, it is not Jun. Jun traded clothes with Shinichi Aoki (Masahiko Shamazu), the son of the chauffeur (Yutaka Sada), and the wrong boy has been taken. Gondo must decide whether to pay the ransom as Aoki begs or to keep up with his plans of taking over the company, which has tied up all of his money.

What I find interesting about the story is how beloved Gondo is by the actual workers of the factory. The other executives? Not so fond. In fact, the workers suggest to the detectives that the executives might be behind the kidnapping. They themselves wish to help find the missing boy, and public support, once the story is out, is all behind Gondo, and the rest of the executives are shamed. Women, in fact, are said to be boycotting National Shoes. This does not stop the machinations, of course, but Gondo is seen as almost saintly in his treatment of workers, consumers, and company. The detectives, who are just doing their jobs, seem to like him as well, and Aoki assumes almost without considering the issue that Gondo will pay his son's ransom.

I also like that Kurosawa chooses to show us Gondo's hesitance. (It also delights me that the author of the original book is credited, in the Japanese, as "Edo Makubein.") Gondo genuinely wants to help Aoki, of whom he is clearly fond. Certainly Jun and Shinichi are shown to be real friends. However, Gondo has everything tied up in this deal. The stock is going to cost him 150 million yen. He has leveraged [i]everything[/i]. To pay the ransom will take the 50 million yen that is to be his down payment. Not only will the deal fall through, he will be wiped out. In fact, Aoki will lose his job--but Aoki cares far less about his job than he does his son, obviously. Gondo's choice will change things for an enormous number of people, and Kurosawa makes us feel that choice.

This is not Kurosawa's best work. I'm still holding out judgement as to what will be, as there are several important ones we haven't gotten to yet and won't for some time. (We're only on "H," after all, and two of the most famous ones start with "R"!) However, as with some other directors, even his substandard works are better than the best works of several other directors, and not just your Uwe Bolls and your Michael Bays. And that right there? That's the only time you'll see me compare Akira Kurosawa with Uwe Boll and Michael Bay.