Equinox Flower

Later on his career, Ozu took a more sympathetic view of the younger generation, a shift which is obvious from Equinox Flower, his first colour film. Equinox Flower is set at a time when arranged marriages in Japan became the centre of controversy, a turbulent age of post-war optimism and young people rebelling against their traditional parents, who would not easily let go of old customs and, in the end, their children.

Equinox Flower follows a Tokyo businessman whose friends often turn to him for advice when they find their daughters resisting an arranged marriage. Although he mainly takes a conciliatory and impartial stance, he finds it hard to remain neutral when his own daughter tells him she wants to marry a man of her own choice. He realizes he is about to lose not only his daughter, but also part of his own identity and authority.

Equinox Flower examines the social and cultural changes sweeping through post-war Japan under the increasing impact of capitalism and western values. Stylistically, this is a classic Ozu film, with a low camera angle in a constant position, giving the shots the appearance of photographs or paintings in which the characters suddenly come alive.