Equinox Flower + There was a Father

Two films by Yasujiro Ozu

Yasujiro Ozu’s first colour film, Equinox Flower is a deft comedy that takes an ironic look at the decline of paternal authority. Shin Saburi plays Wataru Hirayama, an old-fashioned father whose outwardly liberal views on marriage are severely tested when his daughter tells him she wants a love-match. Outwitted and outflanked by his wily female relatives Hirayama stubbornly refuses to admit defeat. The director’s playful use of colour, poetry and arch humour combine to make this tale of old versus new at once deeply moving and razor-sharp.

Paternal authority is unquestionably ascendant in Ozu’s powerful war-time drama There Was a Father which is included here. Shuhei Horikawa (Chishy Ryu) sacrifices his teaching career after an unfortunate accident but refuses to sacrifice the education of his only son.