I Was Born, But...
1932 · Movie · 91 min · ★ 7.6 · 96% critics
After moving to a new suburb for their father’s job, two brothers try to earn respect among local kids while adjusting to school and home life. A visit with their father’s boss forces them to rethink what success, authority, and growing up really mean.
Also known as Children of Tokyo · A Picture Book for Grown-ups: I was Born, But...
Where to watch
Streaming on Kanopy, TCM and The Criterion Channel.
2 hours to watch.
Stream (included)
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Details
- Original title
- 大人の見る繪本 生れてはみたけれど
- Years
- 1932
- Release date
- 1932-06-03
- Language
- Japanese
- Runtime
- 91 min
- Critic score
- 96/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.6/10 (149 votes)
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you like gentle family stories with humor and a bittersweet look at childhood, especially if Good Morning or There Was a Father worked for you; Not for you if you want fast pacing or high drama.
Pros: charming child performances; warm humor and heart; thoughtful coming-of-age themes | Cons: slow in places; repetitive stretches; may feel overlong
Themes
- japan
- suburb
- silent film
- childhood
- neighborhood
- kid gang
Cast & crew
Tatsuo Saitō
as Yoshi
Tomio Aoki
as Keiji
Mitsuko Yoshikawa
as Haha
Hideo Sugawara
as Ryoichi
Takeshi Sakamoto
as Juuyaku
Teruyo Hayami
as Fujin
- SK
Seiichi Katô
as Kodomo
Shoichi Kofujita
as Delivery Boy
Seiji Nishimura
as Teacher
- ZI
Zentaro Iijima
as Friend
Directed by Yasujirō Ozu