☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ½
I Was Born, But… (1932) – Y. Ozu
A most lyrical silent film from Ozu (but not really in his typical
camera-rests-on-the-tatami style). We see things from a child’s eye view,
although this is a tale for adults. Two
young brothers cope with the problems of moving to a new suburb in which they
are bullied by a few bigger kids, find out that their father acts the fool to
get ahead with the boss, go on a (brief) hunger strike, and eventually settle
in and accept the way things are. Ozu
manages to evoke a heightened reality – more real than reality (with trains
whizzing through the background with startling regularity) -- which is enough
to make any silent film a classic.
However, he also takes time to comment on the injustice of social class
relations – and the wisdom imparted from the mouths of babes is more telling
than any didactic lesson otherwise taught.
A beautiful film from a time long past.
Ozu would steal ideas for his late period film, Ohayo (Good Morning)
which is nevertheless really different.
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