3 Equinox Flower
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Steven Peacock
Abstract
Released in 1958, Equinox Flower brings to an end Ozu's longstanding resistance to the use of colour in film. Just as City Lights holds onto many aspects of silent cinema, monochrome pervades Equinox Flower. The title of the film refers to the red higanbana flower that blooms during the autumn equinox in Japan. The film channels attention on small applications and various shades of the colour red. In Equinox Flower, a father gradually, reluctantly warms to his young daughter's chosen suitor. The film explores the connection between black-and-white trappings and tradition. Finally, film and father broaden their outlooks together. In the concluding scenes, Equinox Flower opens out the setting, moving from the confines of the home to the wider vistas of a golf club. The golf flags, painted in red and yellow stripes, bear the film's colours of marriage.
Abstract
Released in 1958, Equinox Flower brings to an end Ozu's longstanding resistance to the use of colour in film. Just as City Lights holds onto many aspects of silent cinema, monochrome pervades Equinox Flower. The title of the film refers to the red higanbana flower that blooms during the autumn equinox in Japan. The film channels attention on small applications and various shades of the colour red. In Equinox Flower, a father gradually, reluctantly warms to his young daughter's chosen suitor. The film explores the connection between black-and-white trappings and tradition. Finally, film and father broaden their outlooks together. In the concluding scenes, Equinox Flower opens out the setting, moving from the confines of the home to the wider vistas of a golf club. The golf flags, painted in red and yellow stripes, bear the film's colours of marriage.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Epigraph v
- Contents vii
- List of plates viii
- List of figures x
- Preface xii
- Acknowledgements xiv
- 1 Introduction 1
- 2 Three Colours: White 7
- 3 Equinox Flower 29
- 4 The Green Ray 47
- 5 Written on the Wind 59
- 6 Fear Eats the Soul 81
- 7 The Umbrellas of Cherbourg 91
- 8 Afterword 108
- Appendix A 111
- Appendix B 112
- Notes 115
- Bibliography 122
- Index 126
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Epigraph v
- Contents vii
- List of plates viii
- List of figures x
- Preface xii
- Acknowledgements xiv
- 1 Introduction 1
- 2 Three Colours: White 7
- 3 Equinox Flower 29
- 4 The Green Ray 47
- 5 Written on the Wind 59
- 6 Fear Eats the Soul 81
- 7 The Umbrellas of Cherbourg 91
- 8 Afterword 108
- Appendix A 111
- Appendix B 112
- Notes 115
- Bibliography 122
- Index 126
