Equinox Flower (Higanbana) is one of the most lighthearted of Japanese filmmaker
Yasujiro Ozu's "home dramas." Motivating the plot is a young girl's impulsive decision to marry. The girl's father had always expected that his daughter would first ask his permission to be wed, and indeed wait until he'd chosen her husband for her. After all, it is not only family tradition, but a cultural "must". But this is the 1950s, and the girl proceeds with her plans on her own volition. Dad's anger and disappointment over not having been consulted is played out in long, uninterrupted takes, allowing actor Shin Saburi to run the emotional gamut from comic discomfiture to moving pathos. As in most of his best films, director Ozu also collaborated on the script of Equinox Flower. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide