Otona no miru ehon - Umarete wa mita keredo (I Was Born, But ) (Children of Tokyo) (1932)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Luke B

  
  I Was Born, But... is a wonderfully titled and crafted movie of pure simplicity by the master Ozu. As the title suggests, it's about someone facing the fact that they exist, but they aren't going to achieve anything. Two brothers move with their family so their father can be… More
  I Was Born, But... is a wonderfully titled and crafted movie of pure simplicity by the master Ozu. As the title suggests, it's about someone facing the fact that they exist, but they aren't going to achieve anything. Two brothers move with their family so their father can be closer to his boss. The boys get into trouble with the local gang of boys, but soon manage to take control. Just as they are enjoying their triumph, they discover that their father plays the clown for his boss. They see this as a betrayal, and lose respect for their father. During the Ozu Retrospective I've seen Ozu handle dialog, sound, color, and everything else. Here was a nice chance to see him use only his sparse black and white visuals. The story was hilarious and moving. The boys really respect their father, and he encourages them to make something of themselves. Once they find out about his antics, they are not amused. We see the importance of honor and respect, even amongst such young children. The family dynamic is well structured, and even without sound I was completely entranced. Seeing the two boys struggle with the local gang was simply charming. It shows them upsetting the order of the group as the new outsiders. It shows that the need to be accepted never truly leaves us, and the barriers between adults and children aren't so thick and impenetrable. The climax is the young boys giving their father permission to suck up to their boss, and realising he does it for them. So gentle, so sweet, and a little bit sad. Pure Ozu.

• Stella D

  
  ozu's most successful early film is, believe it or not, an 'our gang' inspired silent comedy with a bit more of a social message. subtitled 'an adult's picture book view,' it's child's eye view of adult society makes for an engaging and fun… More
  ozu's most successful early film is, believe it or not, an 'our gang' inspired silent comedy with a bit more of a social message. subtitled 'an adult's picture book view,' it's child's eye view of adult society makes for an engaging and fun watch. i like the way ozu never idealizes children. these kids are complete brats! loosely remade with sound and color in 1959 as 'ohayô (good morning)'

• Drew S

  
  A rich, thoughtful exploration of classism as seen through the eyes of children. Removed from the subtlety of Ozu's later work, I Was Born But...trades in reservation for broad emotions, as is often the case when events are filtered through simpler narrators. The sociology is… More
  A rich, thoughtful exploration of classism as seen through the eyes of children. Removed from the subtlety of Ozu's later work, I Was Born But...trades in reservation for broad emotions, as is often the case when events are filtered through simpler narrators. The sociology is fundamentally intact, and we as a more experienced audience have the opportunity to understand things that fly over the heads of the sons (like a touchingly relatable scene where the boys are completely humiliated by a show of their father's sense of humor), but when you make a film like this you run the risk of overgeneralization. The boys' frustration is understood and justified, and the film wisely tempers it with the gentle insinuation that you can always improve your situation. Despite that, I felt the movie ultimately painted an incomplete portrait of the family's circumstances and what exactly makes the father's subordination so frustrating; surely even children this young understand that everyone has a boss, right? The dilution of the theme makes the movie simpler to approach and grapple with, but not quite as satisfying in the end. The catharsis isn't as easy to apply to our own lives because, well, we aren't kids anymore. Finally, the film's seemingly pro-assimilation ending has a disconcerting ring to it, dovetailing the film into a sort of hopelessness that explodes in the face of its otherwise uplifting tone. Still, it's funny, likable and underhandedly intelligent, sneaking up on you with its insight. Definitely worth watching.

• Walter M

  
  [font=Century Gothic]Directed by Yasujiro Ozu, "I was Born, But..." is a thoroughly delightful and charming silent movie about two boys, Keiji(Tomio Aoki) and Chounan(Hideo Sugawara), having to adjust to a new neighborhood after their father(Tatsuo Saito) moves his family to… More
  [font=Century Gothic]Directed by Yasujiro Ozu, "I was Born, But..." is a thoroughly delightful and charming silent movie about two boys, Keiji(Tomio Aoki) and Chounan(Hideo Sugawara), having to adjust to a new neighborhood after their father(Tatsuo Saito) moves his family to be closer to work. The biggest obstacle being a gang of bullies that compels Chounan to come to his younger brother's rescue at one point. So afraid are they of the bullies that they play hooky from school. But a promise was made by Chounan to get an E in calligraphy for his father and the boys create an elaborate forgery. In the end, the movie makes a subtly effective message about the importance of an education. [/font]

• Lesley N

  
  Japanese black and white silent film (but you'd barely notice, the characters are so well developed) about a Japanese family moving to the suburbs, the father not being quite as important as his sons think he is, and the sons trying to be top dogs in the local kids gang. Funny… More
  Japanese black and white silent film (but you'd barely notice, the characters are so well developed) about a Japanese family moving to the suburbs, the father not being quite as important as his sons think he is, and the sons trying to be top dogs in the local kids gang. Funny and truthful. The lIttle scamps. <img src="http://www.ohcomely.co.uk/blackcat/imagearchive/2200silent%20film%203_store.jpg">