Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Sight & Sound Challenge: I Was Born, But... (1932)

Film: I Was Born, But... (103/250) 
First Time/Rewatch: First Time


I love 'slice of life' films. Films that transport you to another time and place, and let you live in another person's shoes for a while.  In this case, the audience gets to inhabit the world of two Japanese brothers in 1930s Japan, trying to adjust to a new town, fit in with the local boys, and understand their father. I loved how natural all the young actors were, and how it perfectly captured that feeling of childhood, when being included feels like the most important thing in the world, and the adult world is confusing. For boys, their father can be their greatest hero, and anything that knocks him off that pedestal can shake their world quite a bit. It's a film about that special relationship. And in this case, it's a look at Japan in a world before World War II. I don't know what happened to all of these boys, but they are forever preserved in celluloid; young, innocent, and crying after being bullied. We have cinema to thank for that. 

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