BoardChiri
Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay
InformationRap
This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
Paynbob
It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
Books New York
This film is awash with rich color, much like those of Douglas Sirk in 1950s Hollywood - remarkable, given that this is Ozu's debut effort in color filmmaking. And the film is indeed very much of its time - 1958 and a transition to "contemporary" Japan. In the course of our protagonist's day he goes from an office, with its rows of "company men" toiling over paperwork in a modern high rise, to his traditional home with tatami mats. He sheds his Western clothes each evening by dropping them on the floor (for his wife to pick up) and transforming himself into the stern paterfamilias in his yukata.This is a domestic tale of a man and the three (or four) young women he advises in matters of the heart. No King Lear, this is rather a Japanese "Father Knows Best - not". Travel gently to this non-ironic look at a Japanese family in the era of early "Mad Men", and let the color,time period,and Ozu's visual clarity carry you along.
MartinHafer
It's pretty obvious when the film begins that it's one of Yasujirô Ozu's newest films. That's because unlike almost all of his movies, this one is filmed in color. In fact, it's his first color film. Like other Ozu films it features a camera positioned very low--like the cameraman is sitting on the floor. It's odd but works in Ozu's films because of the traditional Japanese tables and futons--all very close to the floor. The plot unfolds very slowly and the film also is a domestic drama--about a daughter who may be marrying and moving out of her home. This is a very common theme--young people moving to adulthood and the sort of conflicts this creates as well as conflicts between traditional and modern values . And, like so many of his later films, it features some of the same old reliable actors. One thing you've gotta say about Ozu--when he found a formula that worked, he REALLY stuck with it. While his films are adored and are often considered masterpieces, there is a strong sense of déjà vu as you watch them!This is the story of a middle-aged man and his family. Early in on the film, you learn that the father and mother had an arranged marriage--something very common in Japan up until recently. You can tell that Dad was not thrilled by this and he even likes the idea of people picking their own spouses. Yet, when his own daughter wants to marry a man of her choosing, he refuses to give consent. He's adamant--even though he agrees with the concept of allowing your grown children to run their own lives--provided, of course, they are not HIS children! This is MILDLY humorous (it's cute the way the father gets manipulated repeatedly) and a nice critique of post-war Japan--when families, values and norms were all in flux. In other words, this man's conflicts were a mirror of conflicts in Japan as a whole--the old Japan and the new, and much less tradition-bound Japan.While this is a beautifully made film, you should be aware that like so many of Ozu's films, it has a very leisurely pace. My advice is although he was a wonderful filmmaker, you might first try some more approachable directors films--such as Kurosawa or a Zatoichi film. That's because Western audiences often balk at such slow pacing (particularly here in hyperactive America). If you do watch it, brew a pot of tea or coffee to help you stay focused--it's worth it, as it's a sweet and exceptional film.
princebansal1982
Equinox Flower like many of Ozu's other movies is about generation gap. But Ozu has a different way of showing the generation gap. There is no black or white, but just shades of gray. Even though the parents or the children may be in wrong on some issue, Ozu still wants us to feel sympathy for them. Instead of fights there are slight admonishments and instead of happy reunions there are reconciliations.A large part of reason for that maybe the Japanese culture in which like many other eastern cultures parents are given more respect. But I think Ozu would have been able to make similar kind of films regardless of which culture he belonged to. This is because his films he films have universal values that strike a chord in everybody.Equinox Flower is Ozu's first color film. He resisted for long time to film in color. But the result here is very good. It is also a relatively more modern film. Sake has been replaced with whiskey and beer. And the younger generation is more openly defiant. He has made a very judicious use of colors.What I love most about his most films is the undercurrent of humor that runs throughout. Even though the topic itself is a little soapy, it never feels like that. I always end up smiling at the end of an Ozu film.
sharptongue
This is the first Ozu film I've seen, though I did see a film about him many years ago. Therefore, I am aware of Ozu's liking for a particular and eccentric camera angle, and his apparent preference for an acting style which is, depending on your point of view, understated, stilted or highly restricted. Ozu appears to like portraying what is perhaps the reality of a culture which values conformity.Take a tip - adjust quickly to the apparently straightjacketed acting. This is an excellent cast, whose talent shines through even Ozu's iron hand.
And it makes the humour even more effective. I was astonished at just how much I, and the rest of the audience, laughed out loud at a few of the scenes. I find it difficult to simply convey why it works. Suffice to say Ozu is clearly a master of the slow buildup. There's a scene where the father takes one of his employees to a bar, to meet a girl who is the daughter of one of his friends. The girl has run away and cut off contact with her dad. The central character tries to get her to at least talk it over. The humour of this scene revolves around the acute embarrasment the junior employee feels, as a regular patron. Ozu milks this scene for every last laugh with a master's touch. Sounds dull as I've written it, right ? Well, on screen, it's a killer.After this film, I'll look forward much more to my next Ozu.
