I Was Born, But … (Otona no miru ehon – Umarete wa mita keredo)
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu
Written by Yasujiro Ozu, Akira Fushimi and Geibei
1932/Japan
Shochiku
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Criterion Channel
“Boys [should be] inured from childhood to trifling risks and slight dangers of every possible description, such as tumbling into ponds and off of trees, etc., in order to strengthen their nervous system”. ― R. M. Ballantyne
I absolutely love Ozu’s silent comedy about fitting in and growing up.
Yoshi (Tatsuo Saito) receives a promotion and he and wife Haha and sons Keiji (Tomio Aoki) and Ryoichi move to the suburbs. The first part of the film involves the boy’s efforts to fit in and find a high place in the pecking order with the local gang of kids. Much of this is quite hilarious. These boys are all boy!
Yoshi’s boys confront this when they move to a new neighborhood.
The second comes about when they find out that their father plays the clown to win points with his boss, who is also the father of one of the kids in the gang. The boys are so disgusted they go on a hunger strike. Then the story focuses more on the choices adults make.
This is a story that resonates in every time and culture. In fact, Ozu remade it 27 years later as Good Morning (1959), in which two boys refuse to speak until their parents buy them a TV. The first time I saw this it was in a completely silent version with no music. Within about 5 minutes I was totally absorbed in the story. This is a funny movie with a little serious commentary on the disappointments of adulthood. Several full versions are currently available on YouTube for free.
