FREE ESSAY ON FILM ANALYSIS/ HIGH AND LOW

FILM ANALYSIS/ HIGH AND LOW

Film 1010
Mise en scene is a stylistic form of filming that is French for "staging the shot", which
is referring to everything in front of the camera. Director Kurosawa understood this
style and used it in High and Low (Kurosawa, 1962). He used several Mise en scene
techniques such as closed composition, space manipulation, and lighting to compliment the
crime thriller story.
Closed composition is one of the main themes that Kurosawa uses throughout the movie. He
chooses to keep the scenes tight and in close quarters mostly. This is seen predominately
in the first half on the movie. Here the action takes place in Mr. Gondo's house on top
of a hill. The viewer has very little idea that there is much of a world outside the
house. This idea is supported when Mr. Gondo has to close all the drapes in the house to
prevent the kidnapper from looking into the house. This gives a mood and feeling of
anxiety from being enclosed. Also, shots of the house sitting on top of the hill give the
feeling of loneliness. This feeling is repeated in the bullet train sequence where the
quarters are much smaller. The viewer is somewhat relieved with the view of the outside,
but because of the close quarters and the sense of a speeding train, it does not allow
the viewer to enjoy the openness the windows provide. A scene that clearly shows the Mise
en scene style is the next day comes and Mr. Gondo must now decide whether to pay the
ransom or not. We see and hear the argument with Mr. Gondo and Mrs. Gondo, with Mr. Aoki
crying to the far left of the scene. Soon the dialog ends and we see Mr. Aoki still to
the far left, Mrs. Gondo with Jun in the middle, and Mr. Gondo to the far right. Clearly
separating them are the detectives who are standing silently with their heads down. The
placement of the detectives manipulates the space in the scene into thirds. It also helps
in emphasizing the differences between the three characters regarding what should be done
about getting Mr. Aoki's son back from the kidnapper. 
In the scene where two of the detectives find the man and woman dead, we see the
detectives enclosed in the window of the house where, we the viewers are looking in. This
is the closed form composition, which is used to help focus the viewers' attention on the
characters. In doing so, the characters' surprise reactions to finding the accomplices
dead are emphasized. Also the low lighting inside the house gives the film a tone of
gloom. This helps set the scene to follow where the detectives give off the feeling of
desperation. This technique of framing the characters expression is used again in the
scene at the hospital. In the hospital scene, the detectives' reaction is again framed in
a window inside the hospital. Here his surprise and excitement is quickly brought to the
viewer's attention. At the same time, the two detectives closest to the viewers, frame
the window that frames the detective inside the window, which seems to enforce the
excitement aspect in the scene.
The most simplistic way that Kurosawa uses the mise en scene is in the disco bar. He uses
the arrangement of objects, space manipulation, as well as lighting to catch the eye of
the viewer. Here we see a young Japanese girl who enters the bar and goes to the jukebox.
But the viewer's attention is still drawn to the criminal, Ginji Takeuchi, who is sitting
at the bar. But when the girl reaches the jukebox and puts in money to play a selection,
the viewer's attention is diverted to her. This is because she is now framed by two disco
ball-like polls that are glittering and shining from the dance lights from above. The
space manipulation comes from the fact that the polls which she is standing between help
separate her from all the action coming from the extras, who are dancing on the dance
floor, as well as the criminal who is still sitting at the bar. You could also say that
the dancers on the dance floor act as a separation between the Japanese girl and the
kidnapper.
The scene in dope alley is an excellent example of mise en scene. Here the only view the
viewer is allowed is through the window of one of the buildings in the alley. The space
manipulation quickly gives the scene an intense feeling of anxiety. The viewer is only
limited to the kidnapper who is in background and a heroin addict who is very disturbed,
suffering from withdraw. Occasionally, the viewer sees the detectives peeking around the
corner in the far left of the windowed scene. This combined with the dark lighting of the
alley sets a very disturbing feeling, suggesting that something is about to happen. The
feeling that the action that will follow will be evil is emphasized by the reflection of
the lighting on the sunglasses of the kidnapper. The reflection appears to be like eyes,
which are lit up devilishly. This feeling is continued by the reflection again of the
drug addict in the kidnapper's sunglasses as he approaches her, which heightens the
action of the events. 
One of the last examples of space manipulation is the scene where the police come back to
Mr. Gondo's house and the auditors are going through his stuff, pricing and marking it
for auction. Because the lack of furniture and belongings inside of the house, as
compared to earlier in the movie, the viewer has a feeling of sadness, despite the fact
that the police were able to recover all but 20,000 yen. Mr. Gondo and the police move to
the couch and sit quietly and Mrs. Gondo stands in the foreground between Mr. Gondo and
the police, with her head down. She is clearly being used as a separation between Mr.
Gondo and the police. That, with the combination of the lack of furniture, along with the
predominance of white created by the light in the house enforces the tone of emptiness
and loneliness that the viewer feels.
Finally, the last few scenes show desperation by the kidnapper. Mr. Gondo and the
kidnapper are sitting across from each other in a closed off room. The room gives the
feeling of being trapped along with the wire mesh and window separating them. Here the
viewer can see the reflection of whom the character is talking to so that we can see the
expression from what is being said. Plus by being in such a small room, the emotions seem
to be increased as the kidnapper releases his own emotions to Mr. Gondo.
We have seen that Kurosawa used many techniques of the mise en scene throughout High and
Low. The use of the closed stylistic form along with the lighting and space manipulation
of characters and objects help increase the intense emotion of the film as well as help
the viewer focus on key points and characters. This ultimately moved the story forward
and complimented the crime thriller categorization of the film.