Highest 2 Lowest is an old man’s movie, and I don’t mean that as a criticism. Spike Lee is 68 years old, and Denzel Washington is 70, and it’s fitting for them to ruminate on what they’ve accomplished and how they fit into a world that continues to change around them.

When news broke that Spike Lee was remaking Akira Kurosawa’s crime classic High and Low, you’d be forgiven for feeling at least a little nervous. The director’s track record when it comes to reinterpreting beloved cinema is far from stellar: his 2013 take on Park Chan-wook’s cult classic Oldboy was less a reimagining and more a greatest-hits highlight reel that failed to capture the exhilarating yet queasy spirit of Park’s film.

Among the weirdest films to premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival is Spike Lee ’s out-of-competition drama-thriller Highest 2 Lowest, the kind of idiosyncratic indulgence only a filmmaker of Lee’s stature is allowed.