Zwischen Himmel und Hölle (1963)
62KZwischen Himmel und Hölle: Directed by Akira Kurosawa. With Toshirô Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyôko Kagawa, Tatsuya Mihashi. An executive of a shoe company becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur’s son is kidnapped and held for ransom.
“u0026quot;High and Lowu0026quot; could be considered two movies. The first, u0026quot;Highu0026quot; takes place in Kingo Gondou0026#39;s (Mifuneu0026#39;s) hilltop mansion. The crime occurs and what follows in the next hour is one of the most meticulous and brilliantly constructed film segments I have ever seen! The first half of the film could almost be considered theatre. It is static and deceptively simple but…..so intense! The ensemble acting is superb with Mifune a stand out as usual! Connecting these two movies is the train sequence. After the calculated intensity of the first part this scene comes at you like a sledgehammer! These four or five minutes are magnificent! So very exciting and so very quick it leaves you drained when it ends! u0026quot;Lowu0026quot; begins with the hunt for the criminal. Only u0026quot;Stray Dogu0026quot; comes closer to capturing the copu0026#39;s decent into hell. This last part of the film is fast and furious. We are no longer an observer. We have become part of the chase. First, we know who the criminal is. The police do not know and what follows is a fascinating puzzle being put together before our eyes! The last scene in the film is unexpected, deeply disturbing and left me numb and staring at the TV screen after the film had ended. Like Gondo we are left with the answers that we did not want to hear.”
