High and Low

Aoki's positioning in this movie is so genius, he occupies the same space on screen that he occupies in Gondo's mind. He is always there, in a position that obviously places him in the background, but also in a space that our eyes can't help but continuously be drawn to. We can't help but keep glancing at him to see his reactions, even as he is simply standing there helpless for a chunk of the movie, he is still there, a visual representation of the human stakes of the story. It is the same for Gondo, Aoki's presence and grief is always hovering over him, never quite out of sight as he attempts to make a single decision that will determine his future. This movie, and Kurosawa in general, does such an incredible job at representing these things visually in a way that looks so flawless and natural