High and Low

Being a Kurosawa film this already has heavy competition but, this might be the best shot movie of all time. The first act, set almost entirely in Gondo’s living room is so simple and yet absolutely mind blowing. It’s a masterclass in how to block a scene and I’m often thinking about it when watching other movies and comparing them to this. The way the actors are setup around Gondo as a way to present his inner conflict, everything in this is so intentional. There’s also a scene later on in the movie in the second act set at the police headquarters where they all share the evidence they’ve gathered and it’s genuinely one of the coolest scenes ever