Higanbana (1958)

Director:

Yasujiro Ozu

Writers:

Kôgo Noda (writer)
Yasujiro Ozu (writer)

Release Date:

June 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

A businessman clashes with his elder daughter over her choice of a husband.

Plot Keywords:

Marriage | Daughter | Generation Gap | Post War Japan | Japan

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Shin Saburi	...	Wataru Hirayama
Kinuyo Tanaka	...	Kiyoko Hirayama
Ineko Arima	...	Setsuko Hirayama
Yoshiko Kuga	...	Fumiko Mikami
Keiji Sada	...	Masahiko Taniguchi
Teiji Takahashi	...	Shotaru Kondo
Miyuki Kuwano	...	Hisako Hirayama
Chishû Ryû	...	Shukichi Mikami
Chieko Naniwa	...	Hatsu Sasaki
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ryuji Kita	...	Heinosuke Horie
Nobuo Nakamura	...	Toshihiko Kawai
Mutsuko Sakura	...	Akemi
Toyo Takahashi	...	Wakamatsu's owner
Fumio Watanabe	...	Ichiro Nagamura
Fujiko Yamamoto

Also Known As:

Equinox Flower

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Brazil:18 | Portugal:M/12 | UK:U (2007)

Company:

Shôchiku Eiga

Trivia:

This was Yasujiro Ozu's first film in color.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ikite wa mita keredo - Ozu Yasujirô den (1983)

Stilted but excellent

This is the first Ozu film I've seen, though I did see a film about him many years ago. Therefore, I am aware of Ozu's liking for a particular and eccentric camera angle, and his apparent preference for an acting style which is, depending on your point of view, understated, stilted or highly restricted. Ozu appears to like portraying what is perhaps the reality of a culture which values conformity.

Take a tip - adjust quickly to the apparently straightjacketed acting. This is an excellent cast, whose talent shines through even Ozu's iron hand.

And it makes the humour even more effective. I was astonished at just how much I, and the rest of the audience, laughed out loud at a few of the scenes. I find it difficult to simply convey why it works. Suffice to say Ozu is clearly a master of the slow buildup. There's a scene where the father takes one of his employees to a bar, to meet a girl who is the daughter of one of his friends. The girl has run away and cut off contact with her dad. The central character tries to get her to at least talk it over. The humour of this scene revolves around the acute embarrasment the junior employee feels, as a regular patron. Ozu milks this scene for every last laugh with a master's touch. Sounds dull as I've written it, right ? Well, on screen, it's a killer.

After this film, I'll look forward much more to my next Ozu.