Review of I Was Born, But...

I reckon this film to be Ozu's best work, although he is well-known for his "Tokyo Story" (which is also magnificent). This is a satirical comedy about human relations. Ozu brilliantly contrasts children's world with adult one. The child actors make splendid performance, entirely different from the players who show wooden faces in the works of Ozu's later years. The children in this movie are innocent and casual. Ozu is often thought to be a serious artist but he is a gag man by nature. He scatters various gags over the film, tactfully handling the child actors. I really admire his comic sense. Yet the trenchant irony underlies the story. Two brothers are outraged by their father for his clownish and subservient actions in his office. However, they finally understand and accept the hierarchy in the adult world. In a way this is a story of their growth but at the same time it is very sad that they lose their innocence.