The Treasure That Is Children (1935)
"Kodakara sodo" (original title)

Director:

Torajiro Saito

Stars:

Yaeko Izumo, Shigero Ogura, Eiko Takamatsu

Cast

Credited cast:
Yaeko Izumo
Shigero Ogura
Eiko Takamatsu

Storyline

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Genres:

Short | Comedy

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Details

Country:

Japan

Release Date:

23 March 1935 (Japan)

Also Known As:

The Treasure That Is Children

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shôchiku Eiga

Technical Specs

Runtime:

33 min 33 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

User Reviews

A brilliant silent slapstick satire!

I saw this mini-masterpiece tonight at New York's Japan Society on the tail end of their "Comedy and Horror" night in the series "The Dawn of Japanese Animation." Each selection of weird, Fleischer Bros. and early Disney-inspired distinctly, yet Japanese cartoons are paired up with a live action movie in the same spirit.

"The Treasure That Is Children" (or "Kid Commotion" as the title literally translates) is a brilliant comedy that combines the rapid-fire sight gags of Chaplin and Keaton with the biting misanthropy and social satire of Shohei Imamura in full "The Pornographers" mode. Silent comic star Ogura Shigeru wears his Chaplin influence on his sleeve (or rather, his entire wardrobe, including a similar mustache, and a lanky physicality) but he manages to make his bumbling man-child of an expectant father, Mr. Fukuda. Painful slapstick humor abounds at the expense of pregnant women, children, and a poor defenseless piglet. It's really sad that the majority of Torajiro Saito's silent comedies were lost to the ages: we should get what still remains of this great filmmaker's work on DVD, pronto!