Earlier this morning, when Cannes Film Festival chief Thierry Fremaux announced the official lineup for the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival, Spike Lee’s remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 crime thriller “High and Low,” titled “Highest 2 Lowest” was nowhere to be found. Spike Lee then took to his Instagram an hour later, posting that his latest film would premiere at the film festival. Now, Fremaux has confirmed to Variety that the film will indeed make its world premiere at Cannes in the Out of Competition section.
Fremaux stated, “Because of some last-minute information we were waiting for, I wanted to be cautious” about making the announcement. It turns out that Fremaux wanted to confirm “the presence of Denzel Washington” at the festival. “But I can tell you now: Spike Lee’s film ‘Highest 2 Lowest’ will be screened in the presence of Denzel Washington, who will be making his first time ever on the Cannes red carpet!” said Fremaux. Associate Editor at Roger Ebert, Robert Daniels, later pointed out that Fremaux was mistaken and Denzel had indeed been to Cannes before and walked the red carpet for Kenneth Branagh’s “Much Ado About Nothing” in 1993. It’s easy to understand why Fremaux wanted Washington at Cannes for this premiere; not only is he one of the biggest movie stars in the world, which adds a degree of glamor to the festival, but there’s also historical significance too. “Highest 2 Lowest’s” world premiere will take place May 19th, which marks the anniversary of Lee’s “Do the Right Thing“ screening at Cannes in 1989. “Spike loves celebrations. It turns out May 19th is also the 100th birthday of Malcolm X, who Lee honored with his 1992 film starring Washington.”
Fremaux also revealed that the Apple and A24 film follows the original storyline of Kurosawa’s “High and Low” stating, “It’s the story of a man at the height of his fortune: fate places him before a crucial choice that could call everything into question. Tokyo has become New York from the 1960s to the present day, and Denzel Washington takes on the role of Toshirō Mifune in his own way. It is also a great film about family.”
“Highest 2 Lowest“ also stars Jeffrey Wright, Ilfenesh Hadera, Jeffrey Wright, Ice Spice, and ASAP Rocky. Lee has been a favorite at the Cannes Film Festival for many years as a lot of his films have screened there, most recently “Da 5 Bloods” would’ve premiered at Cannes had the 2020 festival gone through as planned, and “BlacKkKlansman” which won Lee the Best Director prize at the 2018 festival. He was also president of the 2021 Cannes jury when he accidentally announced Julia Ducournau’s “Titane” as the Palme d’Or winner early in the awards ceremony.
Which films are you looking forward to the most at this year’s Cannes Film Festival? Are you excited to see “Highest 2 Lowest?” What is your favorite Spike Lee film? Are you planning to attend the festival this year? Please let us know in the comments section below or on our X account.
