High and Low

1963, Akira Kurosawa, Japan

Kurosawa may be known for his samurai movies, but, as this year’s programme has shown, he was also a master of other genres. High and Low is his searing police procedural – a classic of significant influence.  

Set in 1960s Yokohama, High and Low opens at the hilltop home of shoe executive Kingo Gondo, played by the legendary Toshiro Mifune. When a kidnapper mistakenly takes his chauffeur’s son, Gondo must decide whether to pay the ransom and risk ruin, or leave his chauffeur unable to pay. 

Takashi Shimura, featured in both Rashomon and Ikiru (the other films in our Kurosawa season), appears in a supporting role as the Chief of Investigations. High and Low’s procedural sections are thorough and meticulous, and there is a clear through line to films like Memories of Murder (WFS 2024) and David Fincher’s Zodiac. 

The kidnapper is motivated by anger at Gondo’s comfortable lifestyle, with the shoemaker’s mansion home looking down on a poorer neighbourhood of Yokohama. Bong Joon-Ho has cited High and Low as a direct influence on Parasite, from the layout of Gondo’s home to the themes of class disparity.

“.. A sizzling artistic crackerjack and a model of its genre, pegged on a harassed man’s moral decision, laced with firm characterizations and tingling detail and finally attaining an incredibly colorful crescendo of microscopic police sleuthing.” – The New York Times