Spike Lee Discusses New Film, Moral Integrity, and the State of American Cinema in 2025

Spike Lee, now 68, is back at the Cannes Film Festival with his new film *Highest 2 Lowest*, a reinterpretation of Akira Kurosawa’s *High and Low*. Starring Denzel Washington as a music mogul facing a moral crisis, the film explores themes of success, personal loss, and doing the right thing. Lee, who brings his signature Brooklyn voice and sharp cultural insight, reveals that the movie also draws from his own life—featuring replicas of his African American art collection and showcasing music he loves. He discusses the difficulties Black perspectives face today, reflecting on his career, the influence of his late mother, and the moral convictions inherited from his father, a jazz musician. The conversation also revisits the intense challenges he faced making *Malcolm X* in 1992 and questions whether such a film could even be made today. Lee doesn’t shy away from political commentary, addressing concerns about Trump’s impact on free speech and the arts. Above all, the article presents Lee as an unflinching artist committed to truth, integrity, and cultural legacy, both through cinema and personal values.