I just got back from seeing High and Low, Akira Kurosawa's
adaptation of Ed McBain's King's Ransom. Amazing film. I had
just read the book (if I am going to read a book, I like to
do it before seeing a film adaptation). It's pretty
interesting to compare the two.
Both have the same premise -- kidnappers accidentally snatch
the kid of the chauffeur instead of that of the rich shoe
company executive. They expect the exec to pay anyway. He is
in the middle of a hotile takeover of his company and paying
the ransom will ruin him. "Snatch the servant's kid" is now a
standard plot. I've seen it used many times, especially on TV
cop shows. Was McBain the first to use it?
However, the two versions split about halfway through.
SPOILER ALERT (for both book and film)
King's Ransom is a tight thriller that alternates between the
kidnappers and the cops waiting for ransom instructions with
the the exec. The exec refuses to pay the ransom, but goes
through the paces with the cops anyway (with a box of cut-up
newspapers instead of cash) and helps capture the kidnappers.
They get the kid back. And everyone lives happily ever
after.
High and Low is entirely from the cops' point of view. The
exec decides at the last minute to pay the ransom and they
get the kid back. At first I thought this was a copout to
avoid the hard choices the exec had to make in the book.
However, the movie is only half over. The kidnappers get away
with the money and the exec's finances start circling the
drain.
The rest of the movie is a very detailed police procedural
about trying to catch the criminals, with some very
interesting Japanese legal differences -- it seems that
kidnapping the wrong kid is a lesser offense because he is
not extorting money from the victim's family. There are
several very long scenes where numerous pairs of cops sum up
their part of the ongoing investigation -- looking into the
stolen cars, looking for a phone booth with the right
sightlines, checking out disgruntled employees, tracking down
where the kid was held based on his drawing, etc. It is a
testament to Kursawa's skill, and that of the actors, that
these scenes are riveting.
Then there is a third act, in which they know who the
kidnapper is, but don't have enough to throw the book at him,
so they decide to watch him, hoping to give him enough rope
to hang himself.
Amazing movie.
Mark
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