Otona no miru ehon - Umarete wa mita keredo (1932)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Yasujiro Ozu

Writers:

Akira Fushimi (scenario)
Geibei Ibushiya (adaptation)

Release Date:

3 June 1932 (Japan)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Two young brothers become the leaders of a gang of kids in their neighborhood. Their father is an office...

Plot Keywords:

Family Relationships | Innocence | School | Brother Brother Relationship | Train

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Tatsuo Saito	...	Chichi
Tomio Aoki	...	Keiji (as Tokkan-Kozou)
Mitsuko Yoshikawa	...	Haha (Yoshi's Wife)
Hideo Sugawara	...	Ryoichi
Takeshi Sakamoto	...	Juuyaku (Iwasaki, Executive)
Teruyo Hayami	...	Fujin (Iwasaki's wife)
Seiichi Kato	...	Kodomo (Taro)
Shoichi Kofujita	...	Kozou (Delivery boy)
Seiji Nishimura	...	Sensei (Teacher)
Zentaro Iijima	...	Asobi nakama (Friend)
Shôtarô Fujimatsu	...	Asobi nakama (Friend)
Masao Hayama	...	Asobi nakama (Friend)
Michio Sato	...	Asobi nakama (Friend)
Kuniyasu Hayashi	...	Asobi nakama (Friend)
Akio Nomura	...	Asobi nakama (Friend)

Also Known As:

A Picture Book for Grown-ups: I was Born, But... (Japan: English title) (long title)
Children of Tokyo (USA)
I Was Born, But... (International: English title)
Umarete wa mita keredo (Japan) (short title)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

None

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Company:

Shôchiku Eiga

Movie Connections:

Referenced in I Was Born, But... (2004)

By Threes?

Several days ago I saw a perfect print provided to the PFA by the Japan Foundation, with benshi Midori Sawato accompanying. The performance, of course, was exquisite, if sedate in keeping with the film and Ozu's reputation. Whether by chance or ingenuity the PFA placed Sawato on a raised platform, so you couldn't look at her face without also seeing the film, or the film without seeing her. Her male intonations, though with at least no obvious satire, rival those of Laurie Anderson or Lily Tomlin. But I've been wondering what on earth to say about Ozu. He hadn't discovered yet his low camera angle, and the pacing's not quite as slow as it would become. I'm afraid all that's stayed with me that anyone else might not say, is that, perhaps oddly for a film about a typical family of four, Ozu's camera again and again frames groups of three. I can't remember whether he does this later. Maybe Ozu just liked an image size that makes three optimum. Already, without the formality to come, his frame was beginning to solidify. Don't know. Something to think about is all.