Equinox Flower (Japan, 1958)

A business man is often approached by friends for advice and help regarding marriage as well as family and romantic relationships. He is always very calmly and objectively able to give great insight and assistance to these particular situations. However, when it comes time for him to be objective regarding his oldest daughter, he finds it very difficult.

Equinox Flower was Yasujiro Ozu's first film in color, and wow is it gorgeous. He chose Agfa film from Germany over Kodak or Fujifilm, as he felt that it conveyed red colors better. Here, Ozu tells a story of the hard grip parents can have of their children's life, and how wanting so much control over them they only distance themselves further from the ones they love. Is it worth alienating your daughters just so you can have a piece of mind regarding their marriage? Ozu digs deep into family ethics and the courage to break free from other people's expectations of you, while framing his shots beautifully and spoil us with delicious cinematography.

Genre: Drama

Late Autumn (Japan, 1960)

Family and friends of the late Shuzo Miwa have gathered for his annual memorial service, this one marking the seventh anniversary of his passing. Three of his long time friends - married Shuzo Taguchi, married Soichi Mamiya, and widowed Seiichiro Hirayama - have long known and admitted to each other that they have always been attracted to his widow, Akiko Miwa, who they believe has gotten even more beautiful as she has matured. The three friends take it upon themselves to find a husband for the Miwa's now twenty-four year old daughter, Ayako Miwa, who they believe as beautiful as her mother, and who, as a pure innocent, deserves a good husband. 

I will try not to write a whole speech proclaiming how perfectly Yasujiro Ozu composes his shots or how his color system of choice makes characters and carefully placed objects glow, but instead be thankful for the wealth of movies he gave us. Late Autumn has that grainy yet incredibly defined and mesmerizing colorization, much like Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958), and here it blends together with Ozu's tranquil film style very naturally. I guess the visuals overshadows the plot, though it's not disappointing by any stretch. Definitely a film one should go through when the Akira Kurosawa filmography has been exhausted and Ozu is next in line. 

Genre: Drama

Tokyo Twilight (Japan, 1957)

Two sisters find out the existence of their long-lost mother, but the younger cannot take the truth of being abandoned as a child.

Tokyo Twilight is a film by the master Yasujiro Ozu, the director of classics such as Tokyo Story (1953) and Floating Weeds (1959). Tokyo Twilight feels like a relatively dark Ozu film, and I won't spoil anything but let's just say there's not much room for happy faces. 

I've talked about Ozu's film style before, so let's just say it's beautiful. The angles, the placement and the overall stillness of his camera are just perfect.

A fantastic, low-key story about confronting the past.

Genre: Drama