Akira Kurosawa's 'High and Low'

High and Low is a 1963 film directed by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshiro Mifune. Mifune’s character is Gondo, a shoe executive who is forced to choose between personal success and honor, controlling stock in a shoe company and paying a huge ransom to a kidnapper for the life of his chauffer’s son. Either way, Gondo loses, but the decision is still a difficult one to make. This summary is detailed and is not recommended to those who feel it may take away from seeing the actual film. Thanks for reading and I’d appreciate it if you’d leave a like and a comment:

High and Low by Akira Kurosawa

Mark 8:36 "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"

Executives of National Shoes meet with Gondo, a fellow executive, in his home to discuss making cheaper shoes that are more profitable. Sales are flat because the shoes they make now are too durable. Gondo believes that their shoes should be well-made. The other executives think the president of the company is too old fashioned and they want to buy out his stock. They want Gondo to join them in this; he has 13%. But if he does join them, they will only make him the company’s Executive Director but not its President. 

Gondo is loyal to the old man’s commitment to quality. He also believes that durable shoes are more profitable than flimsy shoes the long run. His fellow executives disagree and leave in anger. 

Outside, they plot. Why was Gondo confident enough to throw them out of his house? The executives promise Gondo’s accountant, Kawanishi, partnership in the company in exchange for his help in finding out what Gondo's plans are. 

Meanwhile, Gondos’ son, Jun, and Shinichi, the son of his chauffeur, are playing cowboys and Indians (Jun is playing the Cowboy). Gondo tells his son that he has to attack or be attacked. 

Gondo knows his fellow executives want him out but he is ahead of them. Gondo’s wife tells him that “Success isn’t worth losing his humanity.” 

Gondo gets a call from the Osaka hotel, hangs up the phone, and orders Kawanishi to go to the Osaka Hotel right away. Gondo is tense and his wife asks him If everything is all right. The phone rings. Again, Gondo answers it. His face relaxes. He tells the party on the other line that it’s within his limit and that he’ll be sending a deposit tonight. Gondo hangs up the phone and it rings again. He answers it and smiles. He hangs up the phone and toasts a glass of wine with his wife—the deal is set! His share, he tells her, isn’t 13%; it’s 47%! He is buying controlling interest in the shoe company. He took loans out on their home and raised 50 million yen to get this deal. He put up everything they own to get this deal!

Aoki, his chauffeur, comes in and asks for his son Shinichi. The phone rings and Gondo answers it. The man claims that he has kidnapped Jun and demands 30 million yen by tomorrow. Gondo agrees to pay without hesitation and stops Kawanishi from calling the police as doing so will endanger Jun’s life. Jun comes in from outside in his cowboy costume. Gondo is relieved, thinking the call was a prank. But where’s Shinichi? Jun tells Gondo that they switched roles but Shinichi never came back. Aoki goes outside screaming for his son. Gondo calls the cops who arrive in a furniture truck disguised as delivery men. 

Inspector Tokura orders his men to tap Gondo’s phone. Gondo wants to publicize the kidnapper’s mistake but Tokura believes that doing this will endanger Aoki’s son. Gondo doesn’t believe they will hut Aoki’s son but Tokura insists on Shinichi’s safety 1st and catching the kidnapper 2nd. 

Police talk to Aoki who’s a widower. The kidnapper calls. Police listen. The kidnapper knows he has the wrong boy but he wants the 30 million yen anyway. Gondo says he won’t pay; the kidnapper laughs and hangs up. Gondo can’t believe this; the kidnapper just wants to humiliate him into throwing away his hard-earned money. Jun, his son, cries because he feels responsible for Shinichi’s disappearance. Gondo’s wife speaks up; she wants him to pay the ransom for Shinichi because he was going to do so when he thought the kidnapper had their own son. Gondo’s accountant, Kawanishi, is running out of patience because he doesn’t believe there’s any sense in paying the ransom because the boy is probably already dead.

As Kawanishi is about to leave the phone rings and Gondo calls out for Kawanishi to come back. The kidnapper allows Shinichi to speak with his father and Aoki breaks into tears. Kidnapper hangs up. Aoki begs Gondo to get his son back. Gondo paces the floor with Aoki on him like a cheap suit. Gondo finally stops and tells Aoki that he can’t do it. Then, he tells Kawanishi to postpone the flight to Osaka. 

Police close the curtain and stay the night. 

The next day, Gondo is still resolute on his position to not pay the ransom. If he does he’ll lose everything. His wife wants him to pay the kidnapper. He reminds her that she is spoiled to the good life he provides for her. He could someone blackmail him now? Gondo's frustration is all over the place. He gives the check to Kawanishi and orders him to take to go to Osaka and buy the stock. Kawanishi refuses to take the check because Gondo will be hated for not paying the ransom for Shinichi. Kawanishi believes that life is more important than money.

Whoa! Now, Gondo is really confused. Just last night, Kawanishi didn’t give a damn about Shinichi and wanted to close the Osaka deal right away. Kawanishi tells Gondo that the shoe company executives offered him a deal and Gondo throws Kawanishi out of his home. Aoki comes back in crying and apologizes for asking Gondo to pay the ransom. After all, Shinichi is a smart boy and can take care of himself. Aoki says this before going off to a corner to cry. The police feel sorry for Gondo.

The phone rings. The kidnapper orders Gondo to open the drapes so that he can see in the house. The cops lie on the floor and Gondo opens the drapes. 

Gondo agrees to pay the ransom but wants to see the boy to make sure he is ok. The kidnapper says he’ll think about it and hangs up. 

Gondo calls the Bank of Tokyo and tells manager to send him 30 million yen right away. Aoki falls to his knees. 

The police check the pay phones in the area. They listen to recorded tapes calls for clues. Kidnapper calls and instructs Gondo to bring suitcase on bullet train. 

On the bullet train, the cops whisper amongst themselves about their respect for Gondo. The PA calls for Gondo to take a phone call. It’s the kidnapper; he has the boy at the foot of the Sakowa river. He orders Gondo to look out the window and to throw the suitcase out in between stops so he can’t be caught by the cops. 

Police snap a picture a man and a boy standing by the Bridge as the train passes it. Gondo pushes the suitcase out the widow and someone picks it up immediately. Gondo and cops get off at the next stop and find Shinichi alone by the bridge. The cops feel sorry for Gondo and vow to catch the kidnapper. They walk the area around Gondo’s house for clues. Kidnapper sees Gondo and his unselfish deed on the front page of the paper; he’s a hero! 

At police HQ, cops study film they shot from the train. A woman with a large hat has Shinichi by the bridge. Cops ask Shinichi if he remembers anything. Aoki yells at Shinichi to remember. Gondo stops Aoki from yelling at boy. 

Bankers visit Gondo’s house to let him know that they expect their money on time. Meanwhile, the police examine map of area around Gondo’s house. They narrow down where kidnapper lives. 

Tokyo, Osaka,and Nagoy are the only places to call train from.

At police HQ, investigators review the evidence they have collected so far:

Detectives go to a railroad station near Yurakucho, Tokyo but no one there remembers a man using the phone there last night; as for the ether, the suspect is probably in medicine. Ether is also used in repair shops; a farmer noticed a gray car. Eighteen similar cars has been stolen in the last month. But 1 of the cars was stolen just before the case broke! None of the 1,000 yen notes have turned up yet. People report seeing dozens of men with boys Shinichi’s age; a turnpike toll collector tells cops that in 1 car he happened to see a boy under a blanket with a toy rifle and a cowboy hat. 

Detectives interview employees of the bullet train to see if there were any grudges among them. Bos’n, a senior detective, interviews the executives at National Shoes to see if they held any grudges against Gondo. The executives openly express their resentment towards Gondo for trying to go behind their back to take control of the company; none of them, however, will admit to holding a grudge against him. Detectives interview a line worker who thinks Gondo is a fine boss to good workers despite his temper. Detectives, under Inspector Takura, discuss results of meeting.

Case seems impossible to break. Inspector Takura reminds detectives of Gondo’s pain. Division 3 calls Takura to let him know that they found the stolen car!

Back at police HQ, detectives listen to the taped phone conversations between kidnapper and Gondo. The sound of a passing train can be heard behind the kidnapper. The train is near his hideout! Detectives find a specialist in the area who tells them that the train on tape is the Enoshima trolley.

Detectives take Shinichi to the bridge where they found him to try to help him remember a clue.  Later, Aoki takes his son out in the car to look around the area on their own. Shinichi finds a tree he remembers peeing by. 

The detectives drive around looking for Shinichi and his father and get a call from the crime lab letting them know they found fish oil, blood and mackerel scales on the stolen car. Car was at the Koshigoe Market near the trolley.

While cops are at market interviewing a fish vendor, a car goes by and hits a pothole that splashes mud, blood, and fish scales on the cops—they are getting closer! The vendor tells them that the trolley goes under a nearby cliff that offers a view of Enoshima island where Gondo lives!

Aoki drives around with Shinichi still trying to get the boy to remember something that can help the investigation. Bos’n and fellow cop go to cliff to compare their map of Enoshima to their vantage point—both match!

Shinichi recognizes a tunnel. Bos’n driving 1 road and Aoki on another road just miss each other at an intersection! Bos’n returns to Koshigoe to get Aoki to show them kidnapper’s hideout. Shinichi and Aoki get out car to look around on foot. Cops find them and they find the cops! Aoki bursts into tears; he thinks everything is his fault. 

Shinichi recognizes a small villa the kidnapper took him to. Here, they find a couple dead from a heroin overdose

Police headquarters:

Police hold a press conference. The man and woman they found at the villa died from a heroin overdose. The heroin they used was 90% pure; by comparison, regular heroin is only between 70-75% pure. A note by the bodies said: “Bring us stuff or we’ll spend money and not do what you say anymore.”

Cops also recover some of the marked money Gondo paid the kidnapper at the scene, 2,500 $1,000 yen notes. The dead couple were caretakers of the villa. The Inspector tells the press to keep a lid on it. He wants the kidnapper to think the junkies are alive so that he can try to go back to the villa and kill them. 

The executives of National Shoe voting Gondo out makes the front page of the paper. The kidnapper dumps all the money out the briefcase when he sees a picture of it in the paper.

Police go by Gondo’s place to get him to claim the 2.5 million yen they recovered from the dead addicts. Kawanishi asks Gondo to maintain an honorary post at the company to counter negative public opinion. Gondo rejects this offer and kicks Kawanishi out. 

Aoki shows cops picture Shinichi drew of the kidnapper. Shinichi looks out the window and calls everyone’s attention to a plume of pretty pink smoke. The cops treated the briefcase with a chemical that would create pink smoke if burned. 

Bos’n checks out local incinerator. Old man there remembers someone bringing a box for him to burn. 

Bos’n stops by hospital and sees man with scar on his left hand, the same hand wrapped in bandages that Shinichi drew. The young man’s name is Ginjiro Takeuchi. He had taken 3 days off work during kidnapping; his apartment faces Gondo’s house; one of the pay phones is near his apartment; he’s a medical student; his name is on the medical report of the couple they found at the villa that OD’d on heroin—Bingo!

Inspector wants suspect to reconstruct his own crimes. Their plan is to buy purchase heroin from Takeuchi on behalf of the dead couple they found at the villa. When he delivers the dope to the dead couple they’ll nab him. 

Takeuchi waits at shipping harbor to kill time. When he leaves, hobos and other random characters follow him. 

Cops radio Inspector Tokura to let him know that Takeuchi purchased a bouquet from a florist. Takeuchi stops by a pay phone then ducks into a nightclub. He sticks a red flower in his shirt pocket and sits at bar. He is wearing sunglasses. He blends into the crowd of dancing people. 

Cop radios inspector that Takeuchi is at ‘Dope Alley.’ 

The narrow alley is clogged with addicts. Takeuchi walks through a tangle of arms. He looks them other until he finds a woman by herself (this is how he found caretakers at villa). 

Cops are confused and don’t understand why Takeuchi would go to addicts before getting dope. 

Takeuchi takes the girl into a motel. Inspector thinks Takeuchi uses addicts for guinea pigs.

Woman OD’s, still clutching the hypodermic needle.

Takeuchi re emerges on the streets. Cops watch him from unmarked police car. 

Gondo looks at women shoes in a storefront window. Takeuchi approaches him for a light and follows him. Cops go to villa and cut the radio up loud as if the addicts are inside partying. When Takeuchi knocks on the door and says “I got the stuff,” The cops come out. He runs but they catch him. He opens his hand and drops the dope. 

The cops recover most of Gondo’s money. Men from the bank prepare Gondo’s home and possessions to be auctioned off. 

The front page of the paper reads: “Kidnapper gets death sentence.”

Gondo visits Takeuchi in jail. Gondo is making shoes again, has his own company, and is determined to build it up like National Shoes. Takeuchi refuses a priest and refuses to apologize. He’d always look with envy from the window of his cold apartment at Gondo’s big house high up on the hill. He wants Gondo to see that he isn’t afraid to die. Takeuchi cries and complains about the Hell his life has been. He cracks and the guards take him away from the glass and back to his cell.