skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Film: Equinox Flower
Release date: 17th January 2011
Certificate: U
Running time: 118 mins
Director: Yasujiro Ozu
Starring: Shin Saburi, Kinuyo Tanaka, Ineko Arima, Yoshiko Kuga, Keiji Sada
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Studio: BFI
Format: DVD
Country: Japan
It was only after his death in 1963 that the films of Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu began to be widely appreciated in the west, and he is now held in high esteem by the likes of Mike Leigh, Jim Jarmusch and Wim Wenders. This dual format disc containing two of Ozu’s best loved films shows how important the twin themes of family and the impermanence of life and culture was to the influential director. There Was A Father (1942) and Equinox Flower (1958) both explore shifting family dynamics to quietly powerful effect.
Ozu’s first colour film, 1958’s Equinox Flower, is probably the pick of the two films; a slyly amusing comedy starring Shin Saburi as Wataru Hirayama, an old-fashioned father and businessman who is in for a nasty surprise when he discovers that his eldest daughter has decided to marry a man he and his wife know nothing about.
Mr Hirayama (somehow it seems inappropriate, given his character, to refer to him by his first name) is a likeable but deeply paternalistic man who believes that is his task, with the support of his dutiful wife, to arrange marriages for his daughters.
Mr Hirayama is aware that Japan is changing and that the traditions he holds dear are not as important to the younger generation, but when it his own daughter challenging him he finds it difficult to adapt.
Eventually, however, and partly due to a little deviously amusing trickery on the part of a younger female relative, he begrudgingly accepts that his daughter’s will is her own.
Earlier film There Was A Father (packaged as a bonus feature) is a 1942 wartime drama about the relationship between a similarly straight-laced father, Shuhei Horikawa (Chishu Ryu), and his son Ryohei.
Shuhei is a widower and teacher who decides to quit his profession following a tragic boating accident. This change sets in motion a series of events that will separate Shuhei from his young son, with the tearful youngster carted off to boarding school.
As the years go by, and Ryohei reaches adulthood, he realises that his father made great sacrifices in order to give him the best possible education, but he still yearns to spend more time with him…
In some ways, particularly in terms of its visual style, Equinox Flower appears far ahead of its time. Ozu is known as a director who refused to pander to Hollywood conventions relating to both visual techniques and narrative structure, and Equinox Flower has a highly distinctive look that owes much to the ‘tatami shot’ that Ozu pioneered; a low shot named after the tatami mats used in Japanese homes to sit on, and beautifully composed static or near static shots that linger on the screen, highlighting the visually arresting geometry of domestic and urban spaces.
The use of colour is also important, especially the contrast between the rich, warm colours in the shots of domestic interiors and the more intense colours of commercial signs in the city. This contrast isn’t just a visual device; it draws attention to the shift from traditional to modern values that is central to the film’s story and Mr Hirayama’s dilemma.
For its time, the acting seems wonderfully understated, even in the film’s more comic moments, or when Mr Hirayama is responding with petulant anger to his daughter’s refusal to submit to his will. The humour in Equinox Flower is subtle but pointed; in one particularly enjoyable scene that redefines the notion of toilet humour. Mr Hirayama, unable to continue listening to an annoying woman’s incessant chatter about her attempts to arrange a marriage for her daughter, politely excuses himself by claiming he needs to go the toilet, then heads straight back to his office to escape her babbling.
The performances in There Was A Father are similarly understated, but in place of comedy there is an aching sense of loss, of physical distance between father and son, but also of love and connectedness. In spite of living far from one another for many years, there is a strong bond between father and son that is evident even when they are apart.
There Was A Father does show its age more than Equinox Flower, not simply because it was shot in black-and-white, but because the best print available has deteriorated over time, to the point that the sound quality is sometimes quite poor, and the film scratchy. Even so, it’s interesting to see an earlier example of Ozu’s work; one that shares the underlying thematic focus of his later work.
If you’re interested in Asian cinema of the past and want an introduction to one of Japan’s most influential and respected directors, this double bill is a great place to start. Ozu’s films are clearly rooted in the Japanese experience, but his explorations of family life have a universal appeal that transcends time and place. JG
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 (Chishu Ryu) sacrifices his teaching career after an unfortunate accident but refuses to sacrifice the education of his only son.
Both films are included in standard and high-definition (DVD & Blu-ray), with new and improved English subtitles. The package includes a fully illustrated booklet with newly commissioned sleevenote essays by Asian cinema expert Tony Rayns.
Film: Equinox Flower
Release date: 17th January 2011
Certificate: U
Running time: 118 mins
Director: Yasujiro Ozu
Starring: Shin Saburi, Kinuyo Tanaka, Ineko Arima, Yoshiko Kuga, Keiji Sada
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Studio: BFI
Format: DVD
Country: Japan
Film: Sansho Dayu + Gion Bayashi
Release date: 19th November 2007
Certificate: PG
Running time: 210 mins
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi
Starring: Kinuyo Tanaka, Yoshiaki Hanayagi, Eitaro Shindo, Michiyo Kogure, Ayako Wakao
Genre: Drama
Studio: Eureka!
Format: DVD
Country: Japan
Kenji Mizoguchi’s Sansho Dayu and Gion Bayashi are paired in the first of four double-bill releases in the Masters of Cinema Series released by Eureka. Both films reflect the mastery of one the most accomplished filmmakers of Japanese cinema.
Sansho Dayu (1954)
Based on a novel by Mori Ogai, Sansho Dayu is regarded by many to be Mizoguchi’s finest magnum opus and is often considered one of the greatest films of all-time.
Set in 11th century Japan, the world of a noblewoman, Tamaki (Kinuyo Tanaka), and her two children, Zushio (Masahiko Kato) and Anju (Keiko Enami), is torn apart after they are forcibly separated by slave traders; Tamaki is put into prostitution and Zushio and Anju are sold into slavery.
The main narrative focuses on Zushio and Anju’s journey into adulthood at a time of social injustice when much of Japan was still inhumane and the suffering they inevitably endure as they try to reunite with their mother…
Although much of the brutality, such as the brazing of a woman, takes place off screen, the implications of cruelty are nevertheless disturbing. But the awful events that take place are made bearable only by Miyagawa Kazuo’s gorgeous black-and-white photography, and Mizoguchi’s trademark technique - the long-shot, which is exquisitely applied throughout resulting in the film being a visual masterpiece.
Although the story of Sansho Dayu is a tragic one, the viewer is not left feeling despondent but rather in awe of a master whose skill as a director is unprecedented.
Gion Bayashi (1953)
Gion Bayashi takes place in post-war Japan, at a time when traditional values were being tested by modern ideals, and concerns the lives of two independent women from different generations.
A 16-year-old orphan called Eiko arrives in Kyoto looking for her deceased mother’s friend, Miyoharu, in the hope of being trained as a geisha - the profession her mother followed. Miyoharu is reluctant at first to take Eiko in, as the training is intensive and requires much commitment, but she is soon persuaded by the young girl’s desperate plea and determination.
The cost of her training will be excessive, so Miyoharu turns to Okimi, a highly-regarded female restaurant manager, for a loan whom sequentially borrows the money from one of her rich male clients. But unbeknown to Eiko, there are strings attached…
Like all of Mizoguchi’s films, Gion Bayashi is character driven and seen from the woman’s perspective in a male dominated society. Prostitution features in many of Mizoguchi’s films, including the two presented here, and something he was very much familiar with being a regular visitor to a number of pleasure districts. He understood women and had much sympathy for them, which is clearly demonstrated in Gion Bayashi (aka Gion Festival Music) where the main emphasis is on personal values.
Although the overall script is much more simplistic than that of Sansho Dayu, Gion Bayashi is nonetheless a film that is accurate and honest, and a perfect representation of the world of geisha.
Mizoguchi’s attention to detail is unquestionable, and the film works as a great documentation on the attire and training of a maiko (apprentice geisha). And while it is inevitable that Gion Bayashi will be compared to Mizoguchi’s earlier film Sisters Of Gion (1936), and makes for a decent discussion, any comparisons between this over-looked classic and Memoirs Of A Geisha is just a waste of time.
This deluxe edition twin-pack comes lavishly packaged with a reversible sleeve illustrating reproductions of the original Japanese posters, an 80-page booklet that includes many stills and behind-the-scenes photographs, many with Mizoguchi, as well as full cast and crew credits, a conversation with Mizoguchi first published in 1937, a full reprint of an acclaimed translation of Mori Ogai’s original 1915 story on which Sansho Dayu was based, an article by film critic Robin Wood, and extracts from the book Mizoguchi and Japan by Mark Le Fanu; one of the few books published on the life and work of the great man. Special features on the discs include restored high-definition transfers, original trailers with English subtitles and video discussions with filmmaker and critic Tony Rayns.
Sansho Dayu is indisputably a masterpiece of cinema with outstanding performances from all of its cast, but this fact should not over-shadow or diminish the excellence of Gion Bayashi; they should equally be appreciated and enjoyed for their own unique brilliance. Both films are invaluable to any serious film collector. SLP
