High and Low (1963) is another masterpiece from Akira Kurosawa. It is about a businessperson who has to pay a huge ransom and stake everything he has built so far.

The movie has three parts, with a Prologue and Epilogue.

• Prologue: The set-up of rich vs. poor (right from the titles), Mr.Gondo’s (Toshiro Mifune) entry and his hilltop villa, his nature, his beliefs and value systems, and the point where he has to take some bold steps to revive his professional fortunes. (Here we get to see an aggressive and successful businessperson who is all for doing what is necessary to win in a war. There is a lovely scene of wife (Kyōko Kagawa) chiding Mr.Gondo about his change of heart after success.)
• Part 1: The inciting incident that of kidnap, his mental turmoil, his relationship with his wife and kid, the importance of them in his life, and finally his good nature forcing him to pay the ransom to save his driver’s child.  (Here we get to see a mellowed Mr.Gondo, who empathizes with a fellow worker, as he himself came up the hard way and gives in to the feelings of his wife and kid.)
• Part 2: Here we get to see the process of paying the ransom and the start of downward progression in Mr.Gondo’s life.(The other characters from police department–Tatsuya Nakadai as Inspector Tokura, Kenjiro Ishiyama as Chief Detective ‘Bos’n’ Taguchi– introduced in Part 1 start getting their due in terms of story progression.)
• Part 3: The investigation based on the video footage and clues from driver’s child, all lead to seizing the culprit (Tsutomu Yamazaki). (Here we get to see the police characters driving the show and a master class in direction from the great Akira Kurosawa)
• Epilogue: Here we get to see the showdown between Mr.Gondo (who is now starting all over again, working at a different firm) and the kidnapper (who is awaiting his death sentence) and the rich vs. poor theme.

Akira Kurosawa’s masterful direction is all in its splendor and there are several videos and articles on the internet about the story telling and shot making. (A few mentioned below in related links).

In summary, High and Low is not a typical feel good movie even though the plot and characters reach their logical conclusion (Mr.Gondo gets back his ransom, the culprit is hanged, the police solve the case, the kids unite etc). The fact that Mr.Gondo doesn’t win his company back or the epilogue in which the kidnapper tries to justify his crime, gives us a feeling that the director wanted the grays to be intact instead of a plain vanilla, happy-ever-after ending. It is as if he is telling us, that the two main characters are the not the same after this crisis and their lives are changed forever. While one will be dead soon, the other is back to square one, inspite of all the goodwill he earned from the public due to his noble act. This again is a reflection of the writer’s perspective, that no matter what the world’s representation of you might be, one has to face the harsh reality and move ahead.

In contrast, Inkaar (1977) goes for a happy conclusion, where in all the characters get what they want and result in predictable outcomes. The grays are tossed out of the window for a wider appeal. The police character becomes the main hero (Vinod Khanna) while the businessperson (Dr.Shriram Lagoo) becomes a character actor. In addition, the main criminal (Amjad Khan) is an ex-worker in the factory and a mad-killer on loose, who dies in the end. Therefore, the hero gets the girl, the businessperson saves his house from auction in time, the kids are reunited, and the wife is no better than she was earlier, the driver even more faithful than before.

Having said that Raj.N.Sippy’s Inkaar still is a different commercial film in its times and does a decent job, with able support from music and sound department (Rajesh Roshan, Robin Chatterjee and Mangesh Desai). It isn’t a magnificent seven of Seven samurai, or A Fistfull of dollars of Yojimbo, but manages to weave it in a form palatable to the audiences in 70s and movie aficionados of all time.

Tailpiece: The scene in The Fugitive (1993) where Tommy Lee Jones spots an overhead train in a sound tape, is a straight lift from the trolley-sound scene in High and Low.

Related Links
High and Low Analysis
High and Low: Full Movie on Internet Archive
High and Low Review
The Morality of High and Low
Blocking moments in High and Low
Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low — What Makes This Movie Great?
‘Unsung hero, Pope of sound’: A documentary resurrects legendary mixing engineer Mangesh Desai.
Robin Chatterjee music composer

Run Lola Run is a German thriller film written and directed by Tom Tykwer. The story follows a woman named Lola (Franka Potente) who needs to obtain 100,000 Deutschmarks in twenty minutes to save the life of her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu).

The film touches on themes such as free will vs. determinism, the role of chance in people’s destiny, and obscure cause-effect relationships. Through brief flash-forward sequences of still images, Lola’s fleeting interactions with bystanders are revealed to have surprising and drastic effects on their future lives, serving as concise illustrations of chaos theory’s butterfly effect, in which minor, seemingly inconsequential variations in any interaction can blossom into much wider results than is often recognized. The film’s exploration of the relationship between chance and conscious intention comes to the foreground in the casino scene, where Lola appears to defy the laws of chance through sheer force of will, improbably making the roulette ball land on her winning number with the help of a glass-shattering scream.

Source: Wikipedia

The film explores the concept of alternate reality where each set of choices Lola makes pushes her and the people she encounters in that reality, onto a different path. However, she can still influence the outcome to the extent possible as per her capability/volition. The taking and presentation of the film, gives it a dreamy look, with audience having to decide if the first two versions of reality actually happened or she thought about it in her head, and may be the last one (with the happy ending one) is the version that actually happened. (In films like ‘Groundhog Day’ and ‘Edge of Tomorrow’, the main character is conscious of the previous versions, and to some extent, Lola also does. But in Run Lola Run there is a lot more ambiguity.)

On the other hand, one can also imagine a scene/reality from the past and try to make amends. This brings us to a famous dialogue from ‘The Shawshank redemption’, during Red (Morgan Freeman)’s parole hearing.

Red : There's not a day goes by I don't feel regret. Not because I'm in here, because you think I should. I look back on the way I was then: a young, stupid kid who committed that terrible crime. I want to talk to him. I want to try to talk some sense to him, tell him the way things are. But I can't. That kid's long gone, and this old man is all that's left. I got to live with that. Rehabilitated? It's just a bullshit word. So you go on and stamp your form, sonny, and stop wasting my time. Because to tell you the truth, I don't give a shit.

Overall, Run lola Run is a must watch.

Tailpiece: Tapsi Pannu’s ‘Loop Lapeta’ is an official remake of Run Lola Run, and available on Netflix.

The movie ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ stays true to the short story by Stephen King. In fact it is a matter of great surprise how much the story has to offer as is that makes it into Frank Darabont’s screenplay. Yet, Frank Darabont manages to leave his mark with some nice changes to the overall scheme of things. (Spoilers ahead)

1. Character of Tommy: In the book, Tommy takes a deal from the warden and moves to a better prison, however in the movie, he is killed by warden. The change in the movie is much better as it provides a drama (the manner in which he his killed) and adds another feather to the cap of ruthlessness of the warden (no prisoners approach). 
2. Getaway plan: In the book, the plan is a bit complicated with Andy having an associate outside and the details to his getaway plan (once he escapes the prison) is hidden under the black volcanic rock in the field of Buxton. While the aspect of both Andy and Red, coming to the same field to look for their final escape is interesting, the movie simplifies the plan, with Andy taking charge of everything (which is actually true to his character, not depending on anyone),but still leaves instructions to Red, incase he gets out. Most importantly letter to Red is taken as is from the book, as is.
3. Boggs: Andy’s victory over Boggs and sisters is much clear and presented it better than book.
4. Warden and main guard: In the book, this combination changes over time, but in the movie they remain same. This is actually good, to keep the villains same throughout.
5. Time-period: The story drags on for some more years, while the movie understandably reduces it, with the period ending with Lovely Rachael. May be, point 4 is the reason.
6. Overall narration: The story goes back and forth, with Red narrating it non-linearly, rather jumpy. It is justified, as Red with little education and no special skills in writing, can manage it that way. Frank Darabont, should be credited for making this easy on the viewers, with his screenplay nicely picking the threads and tying up into a whole fabric. He does this with élan, without leaving the important and best parts of the book.
7. Warden’s investigation into Andy’s escape: The book scores a few brownie points here with details about a skinny guard going through the Andy’s tunnel and finding out the sewer. In the movie, Red’s narration and Andy’s visuals takes care of it, but the skinny guard (may be from the ‘I gave up drinking’ episode) could have made it effective. Frank might have chosen to opt out, because of film’s duration?
8. Redemption and Revenge: The movie ties this theme neatly, better than the book. Andy’s revenge plot on the Warden is a new addition and provides the last dimension to his Redemption. 
9. Mozart episode: It is not there in the book. Shows the genius of Frank, and builds on ‘Hope is a good thing’ theme.
10. I gave up drinking, Andy getting a mouthorgan for Red, Brooke’s episode: All new, added by Frank.