I Was Born, But... (1932) Otona no miru ehon - Umarete wa mita keredo (original title)

Director:

Yasujirô Ozu

Writers:

Akira Fushimi (scenario)
Geibei Ibushiya (adaptation)
(more)

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:

Boy | Neighborhood | Gang | Suburb | General

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Tatsuo Saitô	...	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)
Teruaki Ishiwatari	...	Asobi nakama (Friend)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chishû Ryû	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Yasujirô Ozu

Writing credits
Akira Fushimi		(scenario)
Geibei Ibushiya		(adaptation)
Yasujirô Ozu		(idea) (as James Maki)

Original Music by
Donald Sosin

Cinematography by
Hideo Shigehara

Film Editing by
Hideo Shigehara

Art Direction by
Takashi Kono

Set Decoration by
Yoshiro Kimura
Takejiro Tsunoda

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kenkichi Hara	....	assistant director
Akira Kiyosuke	....	assistant director

Camera and Electrical Department
Yûharu Atsuta	....	assistant camera
Masao Irie	....	assistant cinematographer
Toshimitsu Nakajima	....	lighting engineer

Production Companies

• Shôchiku Eiga

Distributors

• Janus Films (2010) (USA) (theatrical)
• trigon-film (2007) (Austria) (theatrical)
• trigon-film (2007) (Germany) (theatrical)
• trigon-film (2007) (Switzerland) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Criterion Collection, The (2008) (USA) (DVD) (as Eclipse from the Criterion Collection)
• New Yorker Films (1972) (USA)
• trigon-film (2008) (Switzerland) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Otona no miru ehon - Umarete wa mita keredo" - Japan (original title)
"A Picture Book for Grown-ups: I was Born, But..." - Japan (English title) (long title)
"Children of Tokyo" - USA

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

None

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

USA:Not Rated

Company:

Shôchiku Eiga

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Story of Film: An Odyssey: Episode #1.3" (2011)

What a treasure!!

I am so glad that I ran into this movie. It left such an impression on me. The way it ended was so suprising. The boy's father was such a nice guy, and how that boy could be ashamed of him like that was really something else. It just left me in tears in the end of the movie. It makes me realize what our parents had to do to make a good living, even if it takes having to sell out your pride. His father did it because he loved his family. There is a lesson to be learned in this, and I would recommend this film in a heartbeat!