Spike Lee: ‘I don’t know how we can talk about American values considering who the president is’ | Culture

It’s been 18 years since Spike Lee and Denzel Washington last collaborated… and Highest 2 Lowest (2025) is their fifth project together.

Lee, 68, may not have discovered Washington, but he certainly gave him some of his best roles. At the film’s press conference at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday, May 20, the Atlanta-born Lee recalled: “It’s an 18-year gap and we were surprised it [felt] like yesterday […] we didn’t lose a step.”

In Highest 2 Lowest, the Oscar-winning actor plays David King, a veteran music mogul — with “the best ears in the industry” — on a pivotal day in his career: he plans to stage a coup against his board of directors to regain control of his company. However, things don’t go according to plan. His son — a teenager spending the summer at a basketball camp, alongside the son of King’s driver — is kidnapped.

The following hours become fertile ground for doubt, fear and brutal images of New York, in which Lee gives his all. The iconic director has masterfully reworked the original material. His latest film is based on Akira Kurosawa’s classic thriller, High and Low (1963), in which Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune played the protagonist, a shoe company executive.

Lee has given his character a different take. In the 2025 film, the chauffeur, unlike in Kurosawa’s production, isn’t a meek figure. Instead, Jeffrey Wright — who’s also in another film that premiered at Cannes, The Phoenician Scheme — gives him a power of his own. There’s no class warfare: rather, there’s class consciousness. “For me, Kurosawa has always been a reference. I remind you that Nola Darling (the lead character in Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It) was based on Rashomon (1950),” Lee recalls.

Lee was more careful than on previous occasions with his references to Donald Trump, whom he often refers to as “Agent Orange.” When asked about the tariffs announced by the president on the film industry, he replied: “People are hurting [and] no one’s working. There’s this guy (Trump) who wants to put a tariff on every film that shoots [outside the U.S.]. I don’t know how that’s going to work. I love to shoot [in New York]… it’s the vibe, it’s an energy. I’m very lucky that I’ve been able to shoot films that take place in New York.”

“I don’t have the answer to your question,” he admitted, “but people are definitely hurting.”

In answer to questions about the social problems highlighted in Highest 2 Lowest, the filmmaker responded: “Have you seen the poster for this movie? There’s a quote on it: ‘All money ain’t good money.’ And look, people have got to do what they’ve got to do. I understand [that]. But I just think I can’t do it. All money ain’t good money. I’ve got to give love to Mr. Kurosawa. That’s what I love about the premise of this film. It’s a moral dilemma. You’re jammed up. And there are consequences [to] your actions.”

Regarding his presence in Cannes — where he has brought many of his films since the release of Do the Right Thing (1989) — the filmmaker praised the festival’s atmosphere and the opportunity he’d been given the night before to surprise Washington, who received an honorary Palme d’Or award. Washington didn’t even spend two days on the French Riviera: he took advantage of a Monday break from his Broadway performance in Othello (alongside Jake Gyllenhaal) to fly out, pose for photographers, attend the gala, receive the tribute… and then fly back to New York.

“The truth is, I don’t remember our first day working together. I used to kid Denzel […] when his character in Glory (1989) is getting whupped, that tear [he shed], that was it. Danny Aiello was nominated that year, too (for playing Sal in Lee’s Do the Right Thing). We got two nominations: Danny for best supporting actor and myself for screenplay. When I saw that tear, I was like, ‘Danny, it’s over,’” Lee said of Washington’s Academy Award for the civil war drama.

At various points, Lee’s latest film reflects the contemporary addiction to mobile devices and the constant attention paid to social media. When asked if social media is compromising American values, Lee smiled. “Well, I don’t know how much we can talk about American values considering who the president is.

“My wife said, ‘Spike, be very careful what you say!’ But here’s the thing, I don’t think we can condemn social media. People [can] say the same thing about film or whatever. So I’m not going to demonize the form.”

Highest 2 Lowest contains numerous basketball references. Lee — who wore a New York Knicks cap and T-shirt at Cannes — was hoping that his team would get a quick victory in the NBA Eastern Conference finals against the Indiana Pacers. “You know, I’m missing games one and two!”

After rejecting the notion of being the best director to have portrayed New York City in film — a compliment that even his actor Jeffrey Wright underscored (“Oh my God, Martin Scorsese! It’s Marty!” Lee shouted) — and giving his Knicks a pep talk, Lee happily got up and left his press conference. He had only uttered the word “fuck” a few times, while successfully avoiding any political turmoil.

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