High and Low

Kurosawa builds High and Low with absolute control. The first half barely leaves Gondo’s house, and that confinement does most of the work. ngl, I was completely lost in the film for the first hour, with zero consciousness of reality. When the film finally moves into the city, it changes shape. It was only then that I realized this was a film and not reality. What was personal turns procedural. The camera starts following systems instead of individuals, and Tokyo feels vast, mechanical and that bar scene kinda reminded me of american crime films. The police work is methodical (if I start talking about Tatsuya, there’s no stopping me), which only makes the stakes feel more real.