“Equinox Flower” (彼岸花) DIRECTED BY: Yasujirō Ozu. WRITTEN BY: Yasujirō Ozu, Kōgo Noda. WITH: Shin Saburi, Ineko Arima, Kinuyo Tanaka, Teiji Takahashi. 1958. 118 min. Japan. Color. Japanese. 35mm.
This September, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, 6067 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036, will screen six films shot in vibrant color to celebrate the 120th birth anniversary of influential Japanese filmmaker and screenwriter Yasujirō Ozu.
Before his death on December 12, 1963, Ozu would make 54 feature-length films, several of which, including his much-heralded masterpiece Tokyo Story (1953), are uttered in the same breath as history’s most beloved movies.
The bulk of Ozu’s work is situated within the shomin-geki (“common people drama”) tradition, mirroring real-world tensions within multi-generational families in postwar Japan.
With his iconic low-angle framing, Ozu seats his viewers next to his protagonists on the tatami mat, inviting us into intimate domestic settings to both embrace and scrutinize the complicated dynamics of mid-century Japanese life. The series runs from Sep. 1 – 14, 2023.
The Academy Museum will also hold an exhibition of rare behind-the-scenes photographs, publicity stills, and never-before-seen snapshots from Ozu’s life and work is on display through December 2023, at the Academy’s Margaret Herrick Library.
Yasujirō Ozu in Color: The Final Six Films
Equinox Flower (彼岸花)
Fri. Sep 1 | 7:30 PM
Introduction by Matt Severson, Margaret Herrick Library
Good Morning (お早よう)
Thu. Sep 7 | 7:30 PM
Introduction by Matt Severson, Margaret Herrick Library
Floating Weeds (浮草)
Fri. Sep 8 | 7:30 PM
Late Autumn (秋日和))
Sat. Sep 9 | 7:30 PM
The End of Summer (小早川家の秋) with An Autumn Afternoon (秋刀魚の味)
Thu. Sep 14 | 7:30 PM
Special guests: Introduction by Matsuura Kanji, Filmmaker and Founder of The Ozu Yasujiro Institute, and Miyamato Akiko, Film Researcher and Professor.