Film Forum

Japan, 1932
Directed by Yasujirō Ozu
Starring “Tokkankozo” (Tomio Aoki)
Silent, with Japanese intertitles and English subtitles
Approx. 90 min. 35mm.

Two boys — the younger played by Ozu child great “Tokkankozo” — go on a hunger strike then they see dad Tatsuo Saito toadying to his boss. One of the great silent comedies and Ozu’s first Kinema Jumpo award (Japan’s Oscars).

Reviews

“Coming of age, as Ozu shows us, is an experience without clearly identifiable points of origin or closure; it’s meant to be struggled with, argued for and against, debated with, resisted and seduced by, repudiated and advocated for. In I WAS BORN BUT…, it’s an experience that sticks.”
 – Ricky D’Ambrose, Slant Magazine

“One of Yasujirō Ozu's most sublime films”
– Jonathan Rosenbaum, The Chicago Reader