Cannes, France
CNN
—
Spike Lee and Denzel Washington have walked a long road together. The director and actor’s collaboration has run for 35 years, starting with “Mo’
Better Blues” and including the seminal “Malcolm X.” But one thing they’ve never done is ascend the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival as comrades in arms.
That changed on Monday night as Spike Lee unrolled his new joint on the Croisette. The premiere of “Highest 2 Lowest,” their fifth film together, marked Washington’s first time as a lead actor at Cannes, and the first time he’s hit the festival since 1993’s “Much Ado About Nothing.”
Sensing the occasion, general delegate Thierry Fremaux announced ahead of the screening the festival would award the actor an honorary Palme d’Or. Cue a highlights reel of the two-time Academy Award winner played to the audience of more than 2,000 inside the Grand Theatre Lumiere, who cheered at some of Washington’s iconic lines, and reserved the most noise for the actor’s bravura turn as corrupt cop Alonzo Harris in 2001’s
“Training Day.”
Afterwards, Washington walked on stage with Lee, who was sporting a pinstripe suit in his beloved Knicks colors – a look that was also a possible homage to one Lee sported when he acted alongside Washington in“Malcolm X.”
A few words from Lee and the actor had the honorary Palme in his hands.
“Sit down please,” Washinton implored the prolonged ovation. “This is a total surprise for me, so I feel emotional. But from the bottom of my heart, I thank you all. It was a great opportunity to collaborate with my brother once again – my brother from another mother, Spike.”
Their movie is Lee’s take on legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s “High and Low.” That film, which debuted in 1963, also starred a director’s muse in the form of Kurosawa regular Toshirō Mifune, playing a businessman on the brink of a big deal when his chauffer’s son is mistakenly kidnapped for ransom instead of his own.
It’s not the first time Lee has sprung at the chance to reinterpret a classic of Asian cinema: “She’s Gotta Have It,” the director’s first film at Cannes in 1986, was inspired by Kurosawa’s “Rashomon” (1950). Then in 2013 he remade South Korean Park Chan-wook’s 2003 thriller “Oldboy,” casting Josh Brolin in the lead role originally played by Choi Min-sik.
That remake proved divisive, especially with Park’s cult hit still fresh in cinephiles’ memory. “High and Low” has had more time to disappear into history, and Lee makes some bold choices to strike out on his own.
For one, Washington’s David King isn’t a big shot in the Japanese shoe industry but a New York music mogul, reputed to have the best ear in the business. His driver – a standout Jeffrey Wright – is an ex-con who can’t catch a break when the police get involved. A$AP Rocky also stars in the film as Yung Felon, an aspiring rapper who hopes to be noticed by Washington’s character.
Lee and his team received a long standing ovation after the credits rolled at Monday’s screening, where A$AP Rocky’s partner Rihanna made an appearance. Washington, however, was nowhere to be seen. The actor left the screening early, award in hand. He was headed straight back to Broadway to resume his run of “Othello,” Lee explained.
“You can’t exit the same way you entered,” a music exec reminds Washington’s mogul in the film. It seems the actor took the advice to heart.
“Highest 2 Lowest” debuts in US cinemas on August 22 before streaming on Apple TV+ on September 5. The Cannes Film Festival runs until May 24.