High and Low(1963- Japan)

I finally watched Kurosawa's High and Low(1963). It was a spellbinding experience. A kidnapper intends to kidnap the son of a wealthy executive but winds up getting the chauffeur's son instead. The kidnapper clearly has an axe to grind with him and wants him to pay anyway. The first part plays as a morality play : will he do The Right Thing and pay for his servant's son even though it will ruin him, as he has mortgaged everything in order to get controlling interest in his company? The second part is police procedural, almost documentary style, as the police track down the criminal. Kurosawa uses excellent use of wide screen, showing the executive, his family, the servant and the police in the same shot and their reactions to his decisions. The meeting in the final scene is memorable. Intriguing commentary on the differences in class in Japan and excellent character study.