movie review - High and Low
the journal of Michael Werneburg
twenty-seven years and one million words
Vancouver, 2002.03.29
This is a film dating to 1963 by Akira Kurosawa. It's about a wealthy industrialist who's in the midst of a struggle for control over his corporation when he receives a call telling him that his son has been kidnapped. When he learns that it wasn't actually his son that was taken, but the son of his chauffeur, he is left with the quandry of whether to pay. The movie follows his debate - and the consequences - right down to the final detail.
The story is told in exacting detail, yet the pace is good and a few of the early scenes in particular are flawlessly executed. It's amazing how Kurosawa's work can hold up after 40 years!
Recommended.