Care Package For Heart

Umarete WA MITA Keredo - I was born, but ... (9.5 / 10)

Yasujiro Ozu (1903-1963)

If we talk in the west of the big three of classical Japanese cinema, will generally related to Kurosawa, Ozu and Mizoguchi. Akira Kurosawa was reduced primarily as the director perceived dynamic Samuraiepen. Kenji Mizoguchi was considered the master of the cinema feeling, the emotional woman drama. And in the shadow of the two, with some delay, Yasujiro Ozu obtained with the rigorous style of his quietly told, in the context of the Japanese family settled life stories fame.

While Kurosawa and Mizoguchi courted since the 1950s, for the attention of global cinema audience and collect on the major European film festivals numerous awards, Ozu remained reluctant arrested in the Japanese market . He was therefore the last of the three, whose work was discovered by Western film buffs for themselves. Today Ozu by experts but as perhaps the greatest stylist, has brought the Japanese cinema ever celebrated. And yet, even still is that for a modern cinema-goers access to his work, among the 3 directors referred to, is most difficult. One reason is of course to his choice of film subjects that deal with all of them rather unspectacular everyday family stories. But this circumstance can be especially with the highly acclaimed style Ozu justify the modern viewing habits, such as thunderstorms and frantic cut free in the room whirling cameras loose, even frustrate. Ozu's camera seems static, remains on the low level of a seated person, takes the viewer the perspective of a silent observer present in the room when he was a Ujigami who follows the fortunes of the residents. Closer to his style but was already elsewhere better and more detailed written .

So far, I only knew Ozu's postwar work, in which his personal style had already achieved a high degree of perfection. This is particularly BANSHUN (1949) and Tokyo Story (1953) emphasized that impressed me in their quiet beauty and strict stylization. Therefore, although I respected as Ozu one of the great Japanese directors, without him, but contrary to bring the same enthusiasm as I have since my very first of his on TV watched movies (it was RASHOMON, Uzala or THE SEVEN SAMURAI? my childish memory as deceptive something.) Kurosawa in mind.

Without the right enthusiasm, the discipline of the Japanese cinema committed filmmakers, so I looked I WAS BORN, BUT ... on, my earliest and so far only pre-war Ozu . And what can I say, the movie managed to surprise me completely. Ozu transported hier einen Humor und genau getimten Witz, wie ich es ihm, angesichts seines ernsten Alterswerks, nie und nimmer zugetraut hätte. Natürlich finden sich auch schon hier typische Elemente seiner Nachkriegsfilme, die offenen Sichtachsen innerhalb der japanischen Häuser, die personalisierte Kameraposition, doch demonstriert er noch eine spielerische Experimentierfreude, zeigt dynamische Kamerafahrten (z.B. aus der Sicht eines Radfahrers), dass ich mich mit einem Blick auf die DVD-Hülle nochmals versichern musste einen Ozu-Film eingelegt zu haben. Eine weitere Besonderheit ist die Tatsache, dass dieses Werk  aus dem Jahr 1932 noch ohne Ton abgefilmt wurde. Dabei wirkt der Film ansonsten sehr modern, vor allem in seiner lebendigen frischen Figure drawing, I felt at times to the neorealism of the Italian postwar cinema, recalls a far cry from the stereotype of the overly theatrical silent film.

Ozu directed his first sound film until 1936, when in America and Europe long ago, the era of silent films had been buried. The reasons for the refusal of the new technology but are not (exclusively) based in a conservative setting Ozu artistic or technical backwardness of the Japanese film industry, but especially popular with audiences in the tradition of Filmerzählens, die den Rang einer eigenen Kunstform annahm. Neben der Leinwand standen professionelle Benshi , die die Handlung in ausdruckstarker Weise wieder gaben, die Schauspieler Live synchronisierten. Zu Beginn des Tonfilmzeitalters gab es in Japan gemeinsame Proteste von den in eigenen Gewerkschaften organisierten Filmpianisten und Erzählern. Ein hoffnungsloses Unterfangen. In Reaktion auf die Streiks stellten die Kinos ihre Technik einfach schneller auf den Tonfilm um (Akira Kurosawas arbeitslos gewordener älterer Bruder Heigo, ein bekannter Benshi, beging daraufhin 1933 Selbstmord.) 

The clerk pulls Yoshii with his family to the outskirts of Tokyo. He hopes that by the greater proximity to workplace and professional benefits director. His two sons, Ryoichi and Keiji (ca.10-12 years old), must get along in the new districts only. They would quickly enter into dispute with a gang of neighborhood children. After initially trying in vain with the problem of going out of the way, they even skip school, they succeed with the help of the leader of the rough young milkman's defeat. From then on, they are the new "masters" of the district and guide the flock of children. A member of the gang is the son of the director of the company in which her father works. Same as the new Friends of the two brothers to the idea of a film by the director turned amateur strip is invited. Explore The Ryoichi and Keiji on screen Yoshii, silly grimaces as he crosses to the Director to be complacent, they flee in horror back home. They deeply ashamed of her father, who had previously been her role model yet. How can a person just before the director to make such small? They occur in a "hunger strike" because they do not benefit from the dirty money of her father. After a wild night protest but it is possible Yoshii das Eis zu brechen. Widerstrebend beginnen die Brüder zu begreifen, dass es im Leben Situationen gibt, in denen man sich Hierarchien unterordnen muss, dass ihr Vater, um seine Familie zu Ernähren, um seinen Söhnen eine bessere Zukunft zu sichern, sogar bereit ist sich offen zu erniedrigen.        

Gerade in der Darstellung des ruppigen Alltages der Kinder, in den vielen humorvollen Details, wie den auf den Köpfen zwischengelagerten "Pausenbroten", dem morbiden "Beerdigungsspiel", der ritualisiert nachträglichen Schließung des "Hosenstalls" und ähnlich liebevollen Einschüben, gewinnt der Film eine mitreißende erzählerische Kraft. Auch die lebendige Figurenzeichnung begeistert mich und beweist Ozus große Menschenkenntnis. Die Charakterisierung der beiden Brüder sticht hier besonders positiv hervor. Ozu verdeutlicht z.B. die klare Rangordnung ihrer Beziehung, indem er den Jüngeren, bis hin zur Parodie, ständig das Verhalten des ein oder zwei Jahre älteren Bruders kopieren lässt.  

Ozu is the act by the voluntary humiliation of his father, a much more socially critical note, exposes the rigid social structure that forces the individual to be classified in a hierarchy. However, his criticism is not so much that he would demand such a radical revolutionary solutions. On the contrary, is in conflict with the neighborhood kids exerted force in the world of adults denied deliberately as possible conflict resolution. Violence is not a means to Ozu's view to change the small and large injustices. He designs instead, through the propagation of education as the only adequate solution, still almost classic social democratic model. Advancement through Education, overcoming social barriers by the joint school attendance of children from all backgrounds. In so far is I WAS BORN, BUT ... in his message almost frighteningly modern.

Conclusion:

I WAS BORN, BUT ... is by far my new favorite Ozu. Above all, the vivid character-drawing and refreshing humor of the film have inspired me. thoroughly cured of my initial skepticism, I am going to adjust now to look for other Ozu works before the war. Too bad that much of his early work shall be considered lost.

Title: Umarete wa mita Keredo - I Was Born, But ...
Director: Yasujiro Ozu
Studio: Shochiku Films Ltd. .
Year: 1932
Length: 100 minutes
DVD: Trigon Film R2
Subtitles: German
newly composed incidental music: Christoph Baumann, Isa Wiss, Jacques Siron, Dieter Ulrich