chand-suhas

David King is a music mogul but is also fading due to the competition. His rival label wants to buy his Stackin' Hits Records and he is trying to avoid that by buying back his partner's shares as well as his vote in this matter. He has staked a lot to raise the money required, only to get shocking ransom call, claiming his son Trey's kidnap. As he panics and contemplates using the money for his deal to pay the ransom. It all changes when it is revealed, that the kidnapper messed up by kidnapping Kyle, son of King's chauffer Paul. Nevertheless the kidnapper still demands the ransom and now King has to decide on paying his fortune for saving someone else's son.

Spike Lee's re-interpretation of High and Low is not devoid of the obvious comparison. This has all the Spike Lee's ingredients and a solid cast. Setting the story in 2025 New York, the film succeeds in establishing the core conflict and the first half is infact engaging with the music mogul and his fading label. It is the second half where the film takes a major deviation from the 1963 film as Spike Lee's version clearly isn't interested in turning this into a police procedural narrative. Due to this, it was hard to connect with King taking matters into his own hands. The effort in giving a back story to Yung Felon is noticeable but it felt too desperate to justify his actions. The class divide is no more the root cause and the whole explanation about them being highest 2 lowest, came into too late and was not that effective. This led to the King and Yung Felon's scene in the end get prolonged with little impact.

I chose to watch this before watching the Spike Lee's remake. All I could do instantly was regret not watching this early. Akira Kurosawa's magic remained intact where I got invested in Gondo's predicament instantly. The way the first hour highlight's Gondo's frustration as well as helpless in that scenario, only to unwillingly give in to the demand was executed in a superb manner. The second hour focusing on the police procedure in finding out the suspect, followed by the elaborate plan to nab him was simply outstanding.

The story set in that particular era, Akira Kurosawa showcases the class division perfectly. That one shot of the policeman agreeing on the view of Gondo's mansion to be triggering left a lasting impression. Adding to that, the final moments where they give the actual suspect his own moment with Gondo, where he gets to vent out was another masterstroke. It wouldn't change anything for either men but that meet up just felt so right. Needless to say I would strongly recommended everyone to watch this gem.

Emma is possessed and needs help from the church to exorcise them. She is brought into a convent attached to a parish church where Father Joseph is a priest. He has recentlty lost his brother and this has pushed him into question his faith. Father Theophilus is requested to perform the exorcism and Father Josesh to assist him in documenting it. While Father Theophilus is fully committed to his belief and is aware of the threat, Father Joseph battles his own skepticism, seeking actual medical help for Emma. How do they work together to save Emma before time runs out, forms rest of the story.

David Midell's approach is more like a documentary without relying on any of the obvious jumpscares and mainly, the screenplay omits a lot of back story as well as possible subplots, to focus entirely on the time spent at the convent. This along with the decision to opt for handheld camera work, the film ends up lacking the emotional connect required. Emma is just introduced as the possessed girl and everything about her is just passed off as information. Father Joseph's pain of losing a brother too is not properly explored to establish his struggle. The church dynamics too is vaguely showcased be it the sisters or the Mother superior. The threat is there but not felt, the detailed exorcism lacks impact too. Al Pacino was the primary reason to watch this film and he doesn't bring anything substantial to the table. The Ritual ends up being an extremely dull watch.