Yasujiro Ozu has a very distinctive style to his films that set him apart from his contemporaries. His films are known for their simplicity and this one is no exception. Ozu manages to revisit a lot of the same themes fairly frequently and yet manages to see them in a different light every time.
Equinox Flower is a film that displays all the hallmarks of Ozu's works - which exist with the end goal of capturing life as closely as possible. What we get, as a result, is a film that tries to immerse the viewer as much as possible and bring them in as part of the world it is creating. As such, the performances are about as true-to-life as possible and the cinematography and editing help make this world feel as immersive as they are.
of course this can be said about most of Ozu's filmography. What makes this particular film great is its integration of the themes related to parenthood within the context of the generational gap. In particular, there are a number of scenes where it is clear that the older generation is old enough to remember what life was like before the war and how they had very little and, in the post war society, worked hard to provide for their children the things they wished they had. Now that the children are coming of age, they are in a completely different cultural landscape than that of their parents and there having to be a reconciliation of those ideas in the most Ozu-way possible.
This film is understated and the drama and comedy match that completely but it works as a recreation of life in that time, especially. It's a slow film which is full of visual and narrative ellipses and finishes off in much the same way as most Ozu films do which makes it a very fulfilling and unique experience.
Needless to say, this is a film I highly recommend.
Equinox Flower is a film that displays all the hallmarks of Ozu's works - which exist with the end goal of capturing life as closely as possible. What we get, as a result, is a film that tries to immerse the viewer as much as possible and bring them in as part of the world it is creating. As such, the performances are about as true-to-life as possible and the cinematography and editing help make this world feel as immersive as they are.
of course this can be said about most of Ozu's filmography. What makes this particular film great is its integration of the themes related to parenthood within the context of the generational gap. In particular, there are a number of scenes where it is clear that the older generation is old enough to remember what life was like before the war and how they had very little and, in the post war society, worked hard to provide for their children the things they wished they had. Now that the children are coming of age, they are in a completely different cultural landscape than that of their parents and there having to be a reconciliation of those ideas in the most Ozu-way possible.
This film is understated and the drama and comedy match that completely but it works as a recreation of life in that time, especially. It's a slow film which is full of visual and narrative ellipses and finishes off in much the same way as most Ozu films do which makes it a very fulfilling and unique experience.
Needless to say, this is a film I highly recommend.