With strong comedic performances by everyone involved, especially Tomio Aoki and Hideo Sugawara, I Was Born, But... illustrates that it's legendary director Yasujiro Ozu had a firm aptitude for combining elements of light entertainment with his trademark social commentary. He makes delightful use of a great script from screenwriter Akira Fushimi, which although commences as an unruly satire unexpectedly changes gears to incorporate a darker mood. This movie is another beautiful example of Ozu’s proficiencies and temperaments as a filmmaker and discerns him formulating moments of deadpan comedy to slapstick hilarity.

This is a reserved, quiet explication of the anarchic ideas of Zero for Conduct with a core of sorrow. It's astonishing how elegantly this film depicts coming-of-age disillusionment, acknowledges the futility of (being born?) a life in such a world, and still retain a certain feeling of child-like joy in the wide open world. There's more than one shot where both brothers do the same thing, one brother slightly behind the other, walking along in unison, and every time it happened, I just felt my brain bleed in some sort of twisted delight at the visual, even when it was a sad one.

This masterpiece is rightly billed as one of Ozu's greatest comedies. The film centers around a pair of kids who slowly come to the realization that their father is more or less a salaryman, whose position in society is much more inflexible that what they had imagined. It's much funnier than it sounds, though. The opening scenes where the kids deal with local bullies is certainly a highlight. The way they deal with their parents is no less amusing. In many ways, they are the masters of the house. This film was so popular that Ozu even made a sequel of sorts in 1959, Good Morning.

Ozu's charming silent traverses the pangs of childhood and shattering realisations. A tale of two bummed out brothers climbing through the ranks of their local school gang in a film full of fisticuffs, some genuinely funny pranks and a weird obsession with sparrow eggs. And in a simaltaneous fashion their father vies for a better position at his workplace by cosying up to his boss in a manner that's nothing short of demeaning. And that's what this film is - a satire on social hierarchies through the ages. The young brothers are incredible here. This is essentially the precursor to Good Morning and man, Ozu sure knows how to pick his actors.

Very charming! Even though it wasn't as Ozu-ey as I expected going in stylistically, it handled the themes of family values stressed by social hierarchy in a really touching way with oodles of humility. Plus, it's a really funny film; the home movie screening is easily the comedic highlight, but having a roving band of elementary schoolers who smack each other around is a goldmine of comedy that Ozu is more than willing to dig into throughout the movie. Even though it's a bit overlong and slow to start, this movie was a delight as it unfolded!

A minor masterpiece, I Was Born, But... is a totally genuine and heartfelt look at childhood, youth, and innocence. It's very believable, totally inoffensive, and a perfect capturing of youth. Whilst it seems totally trivial for the first hour (but utterly captivating nonetheless), it culminates in a final act full of harsh truths and realisations, leaving it with a tinge of sadness. In particularly, it touches upon class, wealth, and social hierarchies, but maintains its childish outlook to the end, where happiness and friendship prevail even when the world is not as simple as previously thought. I Was Born, But... is utterly charming and delightful, there might not be much to it, but it's a profound and enjoyable tale.

Yasujiro Ozu Ranked

Ozu created bangers for more than thirty years straight and this is one of the earliest

🔥Score: 88

Almost as good as Good Morning. Funny, sweet, charming with some great commentary on class. Another early masterpiece from Ozu.

The interesting thing about this was the camera movement. It was kinda weird yet amazing to see Ozu film with tracking shots.

It's rare for a film to capture the whimsical but thought-provoking perspective of children and the hardened outsider perspective of adults - Ozu masters both here, effortlessly moving between the two leading to a fantastic climax when the two blend together and become hardly distinguishable.

It's rare for a film to capture the whimsical but thought-provoking perspective of children and the hardened outsider perspective of adults - Ozu masters both here, effortlessly moving between the two leading to a fantastic climax when the two blend together and become hardly distinguishable.

a marvelous contender for one of the last great silent dramas, as ozu would go on to refine his pithy but sure-handed aesthetic that, in this film, manifests as the gap between desires and expectations for children and parents alike, a true delicacy

Study of masculinity = they keep scratching their crotch

"Are they great because they're rich?"

A struggle for superiority in a smaller world. For children, games can shuffle power and quake the class divide. A hope to grow up on....

Cinematography: 3/5
Acting: 3.5/5
Score: 3.5/5
Plot: 3/5

#31

Niños haciendo travesuras. Más allá de la naturalidad y expresividad, no hay mucho más.

Japanese Marathon Movie #85

I’m not well versed in silent films, I’ve only seen a couple, this being my third. But I was not a fan of this. 

The score is pretty decent, but when you repetitively hit us with the same notes over and over again for an hour and half.. you start to go loopy. And the fact that you have a narrative that is short handed and overly long, it becomes a tedious experience. There’s not much care given to the characters either, until the third act. The third act touches upon some themes surrounding the relationship between father and son. But never exploring it.
Ozu’s introduction of these elements in the third act is interesting, but by then it’s too late. 

GRADE:
D+
3.5/10
1.5/5