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I Was Born, But . . ., 1932
Brothers Keiji (Tomio Aoki) and Ryoichi (Hideo Sugawara) have a rough time of things when their family moves to a new town for their father Yoshi's (Tatsuo Saito) work. Picked on at school and realizing that their father isn't a fancy business man both take a toll on the boys. Yoshi and his wife, Haha (Mitsuko Yoshikawa) gently steer their boys toward a more even-keeled outlook on life.
This is an early film from Ozu, and it has his very familiar comfortable family interactions dynamic. Whereas I more associate Ozu's films with relationships between older children and their parents, the examination of a family ecosystem works nicely even with the younger kids.
The comedy and the drama in this film nicely capture the kind of highs and lows that feel much more potent to a child. The boys are picked on by a group of local schoolchildren, one of whom turns out to be their father's boss's son. In a moment of problem solving, they attempt to "hire" a local to be on their side in these confrontations. Later, when they are angry with their parents, they decide to go on a hunger strike.
I enjoyed the different levels that are played with in this film. We spend most of our time watching interactions between the two boys. But we also get moments of interaction between their parents, and between the parents and the boys. The film really captures the multiple perspectives at play, especially when there is inter-generational conflict. The parents must "come down" to the level of their sons to understand how to help them move past their upset.
The mood of the film is very light, and the whole setting feels very lived in. The performances are really good, and the film benefits tremendously from the brotherly chemistry between the two child actors. At one point the two wordlessly exchange glances as they watch home movies taken by their father's boss, and those moments of significant eye contact capture a sibling dynamic to great degree.
I had no complaints about this film. It is a film that has "low stakes", to be sure, which is part of its charm. I'm not sure it's a film I would revisit, but I thought it was very charming.
I Was Born, But . . ., 1932
Brothers Keiji (Tomio Aoki) and Ryoichi (Hideo Sugawara) have a rough time of things when their family moves to a new town for their father Yoshi's (Tatsuo Saito) work. Picked on at school and realizing that their father isn't a fancy business man both take a toll on the boys. Yoshi and his wife, Haha (Mitsuko Yoshikawa) gently steer their boys toward a more even-keeled outlook on life.
This is an early film from Ozu, and it has his very familiar comfortable family interactions dynamic. Whereas I more associate Ozu's films with relationships between older children and their parents, the examination of a family ecosystem works nicely even with the younger kids.
The comedy and the drama in this film nicely capture the kind of highs and lows that feel much more potent to a child. The boys are picked on by a group of local schoolchildren, one of whom turns out to be their father's boss's son. In a moment of problem solving, they attempt to "hire" a local to be on their side in these confrontations. Later, when they are angry with their parents, they decide to go on a hunger strike.
I enjoyed the different levels that are played with in this film. We spend most of our time watching interactions between the two boys. But we also get moments of interaction between their parents, and between the parents and the boys. The film really captures the multiple perspectives at play, especially when there is inter-generational conflict. The parents must "come down" to the level of their sons to understand how to help them move past their upset.
The mood of the film is very light, and the whole setting feels very lived in. The performances are really good, and the film benefits tremendously from the brotherly chemistry between the two child actors. At one point the two wordlessly exchange glances as they watch home movies taken by their father's boss, and those moments of significant eye contact capture a sibling dynamic to great degree.
I had no complaints about this film. It is a film that has "low stakes", to be sure, which is part of its charm. I'm not sure it's a film I would revisit, but I thought it was very charming.