Spike Lee’s new movie is much more than a Kurosawa remake

Decked out in a resplendent orange-and-blue-striped zoot suit symbolizing the colours of his beloved New York Knicks, Spike Lee hit the Cannes Film Festival’s red carpet in May in full boogie mode. As Lee and his wife, producer Tonya Lewis Lee, huddled under an umbrella and made their way through a throng of photographers, he started dancing as speakers blasted “Trunks,” a track from the soundtrack of his new film, “Highest 2 Lowest,” by ASAP Rocky, who also acts in the movie. Accompanied by his superstar partner, Rihanna, exhibiting her sizable baby bump, the rapper locked eyes with Lee and the two broke out into a spontaneous shimmy.

With the exception of the Knicks winning the NBA championship (they would be eliminated from the playoffs a few days later), it would be hard to imagine Lee in a more joyous spirit than the one he was in at that May 19 event. His film “Do The Right Thing” had premiered at Cannes on the same date in 1989. It was also the 100th birthday of Malcolm X, who was portrayed by “Highest” actor Denzel Washington in their most successful partnership, 1992’s “Malcolm X.”

Though months have passed since that triumphant evening, Lee is extending his “Highest 2 Lowest” victory lap, delighted that he and Washington, whom he calls “America’s greatest living actor,” have joined forces for a fifth time.

“I’ve had a love relationship with the Cannes Film Festival since 1986 — they’ve loved all my films that have been there,” says Lee, 68, speaking on a recent video call from his residence at Oak Bluffs in Martha’s Vineyard. “May 19, 2025, was a continuation of that. I don’t think it was a mistake that the world premiere of ‘Do the Right Thing’ was May 19, 1989. I don’t think it was a mistake that May 19, 2025, was Malcolm X’s 100th birthday.

“For me, some things you just cannot explain. They just happen. And to add to that, this is the first time Denzel has ever been to Cannes with a film.” He pauses: “It was ancestral spirits, whatever you want to call it,” adding with a mischievous cackle, “But not voodoo!”

A reimagining of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 thriller “High and Low,” “Highest 2 Lowest” stars Washington as a wealthy music mogul whose livelihood is threatened by a life-or-death ransom demand. (The film is Lee’s first with Washington since 2006’s “Inside Man.”) The idea for an updated “High and Low” has circulated around Hollywood for several years, sparking interest from David Mamet and Chris Rock, among others. Playwright Alan Fox’s New York-set script was sent to Lee by Washington, who was convinced he was the only director who could do it justice.

“He didn’t have to ask me twice,” cracks Lee. Seated in front of a Kehinde Wiley painting and within reach of a “Jaws 50th” T-shirt, Lee, who wore a Knicks cap, is relentlessly jubilant, flavoring his comments with humorous exclamations and explosive laughter while declaring “Highest 2 Lowest” as one of the most deeply felt endeavors of his decades-long career.

The passage of time since he and Washington worked together stunned them both. “Denzel and I didn’t realize that it’s been 18 years since ‘Inside Man,’” he says. “We only found out when journalists told us.”

“Highest” is also his first film shot and set in New York in more than a decade. The action moves from Brooklyn to the South Bronx. A key set piece involving a subway chase (an homage to “The French Connection” and the late Gene Hackman, Lee says) is a kinetic mash-up, switching between the pursuit, rowdy Yankee fans traveling to a day game against the “the hated motherf—ing Boston Red Sox” and a boisterous National Puerto Rican Day celebration in the Bronx featuring Rosie Perez, Anthony Ramos and Eddie Palmieri’s Salsa Orchestra.

“We were not playing around,” declares Lee, almost doubled over with glee. “Bedlam! Mayhem! Puerto Rico is in da house! It’s the Bronx, baby! The Bronx!”

The new movie also reflects Lee’s serious admiration for Kurosawa. His introduction to the work of the legendary Japanese filmmaker came while attending New York University’s Graduate Film School:

Tribune News Service