Thurday, December 12, 2013 7:00 pm
Japanese Society
333 E 47th St, New York, NY
**Introduced by filmmaker Atsushi Funahashi
1958, 118 min., 35mm, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Yasujiro Ozu. With Shin Saburi, Kinuyo Tanaka, Ineko Arima, Yoshiko Kuga, Keiji Sada, Fujiko Yamamoto, Miyuki Kuwano, Chishu Ryu, Chieko Naniwa.
Among the earliest champions of the now-immortal director, Richie first introduced Yasujiro Ozu to the world with a retrospective at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1963, followed by a European tour of his films. Richie’s book, Ozu (University of California Press, 1974), illuminated upon Ozu’s uniquely serene style and went on to influence an entire generation of film scholars and directors. Made in 1958, Equinox Flower is a highlight of Ozu’s late period, the first to embrace and utilize color photography to stunning effects. Like many of Ozu’s films, this contemporary middle-class drama revolves around the conflict brought out between generations, specifically between a father and his daughter’s ideas about marriage (he insists on an arranged marriage; she wants to marry for love). Here, Ozu finds more sympathy with the younger generation than he had in previous films, giving the film a gentle, balanced touch that offers some hope for the future.
Donald Richie on Equinox Flower: “One of Ozu’s most satisfying films–and his first picture in color. Based on a novel by Ton Satomi, the Kogo Noda/Ozu script has father Saburi firmly opposed to daughter Arima’s marriage to Sada, while at the same time believing himself to be a liberal parent. Through a delightful series of deceptions his despotic ways are smilingly unmasked.”
For more information, please visit:
http://www.japansociety.org/event/equinox-flower