Blog Entry 1 -High and Low
High and Low is a Japanese film by director Akira Kurosawa in 1963. It is based off of the novel King’s Ransom and tells the story of a wealthy executive, Kingo Gondo, who faces a challenging moral dilemma when his chauffeur’s son is kidnapped in place of his own son, Jun. Gondo has recently mortgaged his home and taken out a large loan to acquire sufficient funds to take the majority share of his company National Shoes. In the middle of discussing his plan, however, an anonymous caller says that he has kidnapped Gondo’s son and demands a large ransom. When Jun returns home though, it is revealed that the chauffeur’s son, Shinichi, had been mistaken for Jun after wearing his clothing while playing outside. Gondo is reluctant to pay the ransom for the lower class boy, but pressure from his wife and chauffeur eventually persuade him. Shinichi is returned safely and the police use boobytrapped pink smoke to locate the kidnappers. Two are found dead from a heroin overdose and the lead kidnappers is soon after arrested and imprisoned. While on death row, the prisoner asks to speak to Gondo and in the final scene reveals that his motive was envy for the luxurious life Gondo and his family led, which he did not have.
One significant cinematic aspect of the film, High and Low, is precisely that: height. Height is used as a way to symbolically show the class differences between characters. Gondo and his family, who are of affluent means, live high up on a hill in a nice home with air conditioning and modern furniture, while the kidnapper lives down below in the crowded, hot area at the bottom of the hill. This use of height is important to highlight the motif of class division and struggle which motivates the actions of the film. The two areas are not formally bridged, until the boobytrapped money reveals the kidnappers location with a puff of pink smoke rising from a chimney, Kirosawa’s only use of color in the film. In this same scene, Gondo and company are framed by the large windows of the home, notably looking down at the sprawling expanse below them including the factory. This display of height is incredibly significant not just to the physical distance between characters, but also to symbolize the metaphorical space between them, which the title alludes to.
This allusion is meant to highlight the class tension that was growing in post WWII Japan as the middle class began to grow, but so did the lower class. As the quality of life between the groups also increased in size, tensions rose in a population already devastated by defeat in WWII. A golden age of cinema may have come from the American occupation and industry freedom, but this also came with the westernization of Japanese culture. In High and Low, Gondo and his family live in a very Americanized, modern home that easily inspires envy from those less fortunate who are not able to afford the consumerism naturally associated with that style of life. These tensions between classes not only serve as a central theme and driving force of the film, but also directly contribute to the film’s call to action and moral question.
The notable difference between the two boys is their social class and though insignificant when they play together and become friends, it is the all important factor when Gondo is making the decision to pay the ransom for Shinichi. He was quick to pay it for his son, Jun, but once Jun comes home safely, Gondo literally contemplates whether or not the life of a lower class child is worth risking his home and company for. To some the decision may seem easy, like Gondo’s wife and chauffeur, but this dilemma calls all of morality into question. How do you determine what a life is worth? Does it matter more if it is a child? If it’s your child or not? Even the act of kidnapping is somewhat softened in the final scene as the kidnapper explains his motive. While kidnapping is a grievous crime, he was simply envios of Gondo’s life and suffering in his own. Is the death penalty a fair price to pay? In sympathizing in his final moments, it is up to the viewer to decide.
High and Low is not only a cinematically well done movie, but the critiques that Kurosawa offers can be widely applied globally. Though he analyzes Japanese culture in the post WWII era, tensions between social classes and the question of morality could be applied to any country at any time. In the modern day, as class differences and wage disparities continue to rise, it may be more important to ask these questions now than ever before.
