I Was Born, But...

I Was Born, But... (1932) - 9/10

First Viewed: 4/22/08
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu

All of us are familiar with the typical growing-up story. A kid moves into a new neighborhood and he gets into fights with some local bullies, but in the end everything works out for the best. I Was Born, But... is the quintessential growing-up film, the first and most original of this now-overdone genre.

The director Yasujiro Ozu presents a middle-class family that has just moved into the Tokyo suburbs. The two young sons, still acclimating to their new environment, are harassed by a group of bullies. The power play that follows is both humorous and uncomfortable to watch. We can relate to these boys, these outcasts, as they try to adapt to an unfamiliar area through rather unscrupulous means.

There is a fascinating dynamic between the children and parents. The boys are the future of Japanese society and, being young, are at once sweet, incisive, and even violent. The parents seem to be civilized versions of the kids - the only real difference between them is that they use common courtesy instead of getting into brawls. Ozu's greatest accomplishment is his ability to portray the adult and kids' world as one and the same; they both have similar issues that are merely dealt with in different ways.

While I was watching the film, I came to the depressing realization that these child actors, in the real world, were probably sent into World War II. The ending of I Was Born, But..., in which the parents fondly look at their sleeping sons, serves as both a happy ending and a warning; children are the future and they are not to be taken lightly.