Yasujiro Ozu-Umarete wa mita keredo ('I Was Born, But...') (1932)

Two young brothers become the leaders of a gang of kids in their neighborhood. Their father is an office clerk who tries for advancement by playing up his boss. When the boys visit the boss' house with their father, they discover that their dad has been making a fool of himself to please his boss, who's son is an outwitted member of the boys' gang. The brothers' revolt claiming that hierarchy should be based on ability, not on social background. Ozu's charming film is a social satire that draws from the antics of childhood as well as the tragedy of maturity. IMDb




In the 30s, a low middle-class family composed of the father (Tatsuo Saito), the mother (Mitsuko Yoshikawa) and two little sons (Hideo Sugawara and Tomio Aoki) has just moved to a suburb of Tokyo. The two brothers have some sort of adaptation problem with the kids in their neighborhood, but they feel protected with their beloved father, and they become leaders of the gang. Their father is a clerk in an office, and his director lives in the same neighborhood, and he tries to be promoted in his job being a servile flatterer of his boss. One night, the boys find that his father has a silly behavior in his job to please his boss, and they lose the respect for their father, questioning him why he can not be the director of the company. IMDb




Ozu is the anti-thesis of the Hollywood blockbuster and he possesses a narrow choice of camera positions. Nowhere is the expression "less is more" more appropriate than here. While there is a rare use of a tracking shot, Ozu tends to prefer the static camera and usually shoots from the tatami mat. This sense of mimimalism seems entirely appropriate given that the film spends much time observing the boys everyday encounters. (amazon.com)




This great filmmaker has a knack for expressing the tender beauty of everyday life and minimal expression. However, the sense of observation one feels is always pervaded with subtle touches of humour and emotional resonance - that it is impossible to become bored with it. (amazon.com)