"I Was Born But..." is possibly the most intelligent film to deal with the lives of children. It is not only rich in theme and clever in its execution, it's one of those rare films that can still surprise you even after seeing it multiple times. This isn't just a film about children, it also deals with the harsh truth one must face as they reach adulthood.
By it's description, "I Was Born But..." may not sound like a joyful and playful silent comedy, but indeed it is, directed by one of the masters of cinema who today is mostly known for his sad elegies about growing old.
Yasujiro Ozu was probably Japan's greatest directors and deserves to be mentioned along with Welles, Renoir, and Ford, as one of the masters of the medium. He was not really discovered by western audiences until the 1970s, but he was widely popular in his native country during his lifetime. Ozu's films were defined as "too Japanese" to really reach a wider audience, that term has since become cliche. Even though Ozu dealt specifically with the modern Japanese family, his films were universal in their themes. Although Ozu is probably better regarded for his later masterpieces like "Late Spring", and "Tokyo Story", which dealt with issues about families who had to separate either by the marriage of one member, or the death of another So it might be surprising to find his earlier work to be more on the playful side.
If one were to only his late masterpieces, Ozu might be thought of as an old man's director, but he started filmmaking quite young. He was 29 when he directed "I Was Born But...", which was already his 23rd film. He was also a regular cinephile who was greatly influenced by the silent comedies of Harold Lloyd and Ernst Lubitsch. However despite having what looks to be a less disciplined approach in those early films, Ozu was always aware about what he was trying to say in them, and you can even see in those films a certain somberness that would become his trademark.
"I Was Born But..." is probably best early film of his that I have seen. It tells the story of two young brothers (Hideo Sugawara and Tokkan Kozo) who move to a new neighborhood when their father Yoshii (Tatsuo Saito) gets a new job. The boys soon get in trouble with the neighborhood kids, and are in fear of getting beaten up if they dare go to school. When Yoshii finds out about this, he follows the boys to school to make sure they get there. However there is a change in leadership in the children, when the brothers are able to convince an even bigger kid to beat up the head bully of the group. The brothers then become the leaders and demand the respect of the rest of the kids. They even have a system where they pretend to kill someone who misbehaves or speaks out of turn, then having a fake christian funeral for them. The two boys become the alpha males of their group, we learn their dad on the other hand is below the totem poll at his work.
Yoshii is seen constantly greeting his boss and sucking up to him as much as he can in order to keep in his favour. As the audience, we can see this happening, but the boys seem to be completely oblivious, that is until they are invited to the bosses house to watch home movies. In the movies, the boys see their dad as a buffoon acting out for the camera doing funny walks, and making ridiculous faces. Everyone in the room is laughing, but the boys are utterly humiliated (The look on their faces is priceless). They come to realize the truth, that their father is a subservient at work. This leads to a memorable climactic hunger strike the boys take in rebellion to their father's low status.
Even though this can be defined as a comedy, and one of the best ever made, "I Was Born But..." does carry a familiar thread that can be seen even more clearly in Ozu's later work. Life becomes a little different for the boys after this revelation by their father. In the film's most touching scene, Yoshii is awake with his wife while the boys are asleep. He confesses he doesn't suck up to the boss because he likes it, but because he has to in order for his family to eat. He and his wife then kneel by the sleeping boys, and Yoshii wishes they would grow up not being "an apple polisher" like their old man.
The next morning the boys do realize why their father does what he does, and that's when the hunger strike ends.
Though all is resolved, and things go back to the way they were in the end, Ozu makes a very profound statement about the places we are put in life. For the boys, it is probably the first time they find out that perhaps they might not be able to become the people they hope to be. The idea hearkens towards "Tokyo Story" with those famous lines "Life is disappointing".
However, through all these harsh realities Ozu reminds us of, he still seems to keep a sense of optimism in keeping with the family unit. Families seem to be the saving grace in his films, which is why in his later ones, when they break up, Ozu sees it as a tragedy. But there is genuine love between the boys and their father, and a special bond between them that probably is what makes Yoshii bear through his low status as an employee.
It is with this type of optimism and joy that keeps "I Was Born But..." one of the most likable and charming movies ever made. Ozu has a great flare for physical comedy and sight gags, the two boys as played by Suguwara and Kozo give two of the most natural performances by children ever put on screen. Ozu makes great use in their acting in unison to portray some the film's best sight gags.
There's also a great fluidity in Ozu's work as demonstrated by how he transitions from the father's work place to the boys school so effortlessly, that it just looks like one take.
I have never seen an Ozu film I wouldn't want to see again and again, in some ways I believe he has created the perfect films. For me he's depicted reality in films better than anyone else, and his humanity in his characters is second to none. I go to his films for a nourishment of comfort and a certain reassurance. Ozu is the kind of director I will continue to revisit only to rediscover something I hadn't seen before.
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