Equinox Flower (1958)

彼岸花 / Higanbana
Feature Film | Drama | Japan | Japanese | 1h58m
Dir: Ozu Yasujirō | Scr: Noda Kōgo & Ozu Yasujirō | Novel: Santoni Ton | Ph: Atsuta Yūharu | Mus: Saitō Kojun | Ed: Hamamura Yoshiyasu | AD: Hamada Tatsuo | Snd: Seno Yoshisaburo | Cast: Saburi Shin, Tanaka Kinuyo, Arima Ineko, Kuga Yoshiko, Sada Keiji, Takahashi Teiji, Kuwano Miyuki, Ryū Chishū, Naniwa Chieko

Despite showing a generally quite liberal attitude to such matters with regards to other people’s children, a world-weary middle-aged businessman proves rather reluctant to adopt the modern, Western attitude to matrimony for his own offspring, when it becomes apparent that his eldest daughter intends to marry a man of her, rather than his, own choosing, in Ozu’s gently affecting family drama – his first film shot in colour. Fine performances and typically strong direction more than compensate for a slightly thin script.