我出生了，但……

AlthoughI Was Born, But…(Yasujiro Ozu, 1932) was one of the early works by Ozu, he demonstrates an exceptional aptitude on embodying the callous power dynamics within Japanese working-class structure through the lens of two kids’ growing dismay and perplexity. The film, through a parallel narrative of the father Yoshii (Tatsuo Saito) in work and his children Ryoichi (Hideo Sugawara) and Keiji (Tomio Aoki) in school, presents a keen comparison of the power dynamics of these characters when dealing with convoluted interpersonal relationships.

I Was Born, But…revolves around the notion of power. For salarymen like Yoshii, all the powers concentrate on the hands of the Iwasaki (Takeshi Sakamoto), the big executive in charge of the firm. In order to receive a good salary, and afford a better life for the family, Yoshii racks his mind to hobnob with his boss. Regardless of the physical locations, he would approach Iwasaki in an adulatory manner whenever he has a chance, to not only physically, but mentally live near the boss. Knowing Iwasaki’s passion for film, Yoshii even participates in Iwasaki’s filming of daily vignettes to cater for his interest, which will later trigger a galling incidence, provoking a series of family dramas. While Ozu revealed a bleak image of underlying hierarchies in the adult world and the hypocritical social fabric embedded in the system, he presented a rather humorous and frisky plot via the scope of the neighborhood children, paralleling with the salaryman script. Unlike the adult world brimming with intrigues and office politics, for children, the advent of power lies in physical strength. New to the neighborhood, Ryoichi and Keiji struggle to blend in the new environment, especially when they are intimidated by school bullies, led by a bigger kid (Zentaro Iijima). Luckily, they are wise enough to exploit the physical power of the older delivery boy (Shoichi Kofujita), and eventually to supersede the bigger kid as the most dominant figures in the neighborhood. Even Taro (Katô), Iwasaki’s son, has to pay deference to the boys’ incantation. (a game often played among the children) In the sequence in which the kids witness Yoshii accompanying Iwasaki back home, we finally see these two storylines interweave. Ashamed of the fact that Taro’s father is their father’s boss, Ryoichi and Keiji once again cast the incantation on Toro, hoping to regain at least part of their supremacy. However, Yoshii intervenes and halts the game forthwith, helping Taro gets up from the ground as if he is treating his boss at work at the same time reproaching his sons’ impropriety. Of course, the twins would not understand why their father, an undisputed hero figure in their opinion, would treat Taro in such an obsequious manner. Nevertheless, Father’s reprimand is a blow to the brothers’ imaginary fantasy, offering them a snippet of the how things should work in the reality. The scene puts the two independent worlds under the same frame, revealing adult society’s boot-licking conducts as oppose to children’s ingenuous power ideology and imparting them an imperative lesson about the rigid stratification of the society for the first time.

Ozu's deft camera movements usage are inalienable from narrative functions achieved inI Was Born, But.Nonetheless, the most salient visual style ought to be his utilization of camera movements as a medium to navigate between the two major storylines. Reminiscent of Fritz Lang’s employment of sound as a cue to cut between different spaces inM, (Fritz Lang, 1931), Ozu harnessed the tracking of the camera to establish a relationship between two shots regardless of the discontinuous spaces. In the playground/office scene, a sequence of students marching down the playground is cut to the father’s office smoothly as the camera tracks from left to right. The playful camera movement proffers a sense of verisimilitude as audiences mentally follow the camera motion, navigating between the two settings despite the lack of temporal unity. The juxtaposition of irrelevant sequences also puts two drastically different worlds (children and adults) in compare and contrast with each other, soliciting viewers’ examination of the ulterior motifs behind the image. On the playground, the bigger kid got excoriated by the teacher for not following instructions like other students do. In a cut to the next sequence, the camera, however, now tracking from left to right, capturing an associate who meant to concentrate on work, and shifts right forthwith as he could not resist the soporific working environment and began to yawn like anyone else. These nuances in each character’s synchronous motions allude to the social conformity which everyone ought to obey, epitomizing the foreboding transition from carefree children to institutionalized worker for each person living in the society surrounded by sheer competition.

Although taking immense amounts of inspiration from classical Hollywood comedy, Ozu repeatedly violated the Hollywood continuity editing principle. Instead filming the dialogue scene in the traditional over-the-shoulder method, Ozu framed his dialogue scene more often in a 360-degree style, constantly switching camera positions, proffering a discordant but holistic scene. In the film’s final scene, after understanding the father’s identity and accepting the reality of the life, the two brothers admitted Taro’s father is indeed better. After reconciliation, a straight-on medium long shot shows that the brothers again casting incantation on Taro. In the next shot, however, the camera has already moved behind Ryoichi’s feet, as we observe Taro’s “death” on the ground. At the moment that Ryoichi and Keiji cast the second “revival” incantation in the subsequent shot, the camera has completely switched to the opposite point of view that the initial shot is at, revealing not only the twin brothers but also the train rail barrier.

People would often associate discontinuity film production such as 360-degree system, uncanny camera positions, and playful editing with a sense of distance and detachment because of the diminishing effect on the temporal unity across the narrative. But for Ozu, the combination of these techniques results the opposite, presenting a self-aware and emotionally-intense everyday scenario which builds upon a direct conversation with the audience. The usage of these cinematic techniques continues to be an inextricable part of Ozu’s directing language through his entire film career, embodying his philosophy of straddling the realm of subjectivity and objectivity, and offering contemplative cinemas to viewers not only to realize the sadness and melancholy about the reality of life but to retrospect their own experiences.

面对职人社会，学校教育的失败，两个孩子说出了他们的梦想“我想当中将、我想当大将”。这恰恰揭示了日本军国主义诞生的脉络。

影片中的儿童世界，是一个微型的丛林社会。在弱肉强食的社会里，人靠拳头说话。两个外来者依靠更强的外援实力，轻松夺取孩子王宝座，国王易主。

坐在国王宝座的两兄弟，很快意识到世界并不如他们所想，靠拳头说了算。

为了看电影，两兄弟向小弟缴纳入场费--象征着权力与神秘力量的鸟蛋。据说生吃鸟蛋就会获得神秘的力量。在武力社会，两兄弟是国王；在商业社会，两兄弟沦为跟班。纵使他们后来如何生气，在缴纳入场费的那一刻，两兄弟就成了自己鄙视的，对别人点头哈腰的爸爸。

原本高大伟岸，厉害风光的爸爸，成为了靠溜须拍马、自毁形象、扮演卓别林来逗上司笑的小丑。父亲的形象坍塌，他们无法理解。他们质问父亲：

“为什么爸爸要讨好那些人？” “为什么爸爸不做大执行长官？” “为什么爸爸不给岩崎的爸爸发工资？” 父亲被问得哑口无言，明明从小就各个科目都得甲，为什么长大之后反而要给那些不如我的人工作？

商业社会的逻辑就这么奇怪，父亲亦不明白。若不是没有选择，我何尝想用溜须拍马换取工作高升。

后来父亲问小朋友想你们长大了想做什么：将军。按拳头说话，打破经济壁垒的武力社会，两个小孩走向了军国主义的道路。

我出生了，但社会并不公平；

我出生了，但职人社会让父亲成为小丑；

我出生了，但成为军人才可以突破职人社会的限制。

PS.小津的污点，

1.小津是军国主义者吗？

小津的确参加过侵华战争，但当时每个家庭都需要出一个男人参军。我们总是脑补当时的日本人是积极踊跃参军的，小津亦是被迫参加。对于战争我们应该谴责一个普通的士兵还是发起战争的军官？时代的车轮中，我们亦是被驱赶者。

小津在战后拍摄的电影《长屋绅士录》，反思的正是战争对普通民众的影响，反思战争的危害。可以说小津充满了对战争的反思和悔过的。

所以小津并不是军国主义者，他也并未参加过南京大屠杀。按照他对战争的情绪，比起看他是否参加过战争，来判断是否是军国主义者应该更准确。

《我出生了，但......》 1932年 小津安二郎 日本「电影旬报」选为年度最佳电影。 小津早期的一部默片。今天在微信读书里找来一本小津的自传，名为《豆腐匠的哲学》，其中有讲到这部极具幽默意味的默片，Mark了一年多终于有机会找出来看看。看完有两个非常意外的发现，一是原来小津以前拍的电影是如此幽默，二是小津并不是一开始就拍属于他个人风格的低机位，但是可以说是他往后有声片的雏形。 在这部默片中也处处显示出小津的电影美学，两个小兄弟总是异乎寻常的做同样的动作，是如此自然的一致，一来让观众感到幽默二来也形成了小津影片标志性的动作符号，以此区别于其他。 另外这部默片造型感也极强，精准的构图与人物的集体性动作总是引人发笑，连双手捂着眼睛哭也要做到极致。 通过孩童的视角呈现大人的复杂世界，可谓是小题材大主题。不得不说片中的孩子的表演太生动了，一点儿也不让人出戏，当然这与导演和摄影师极强的捕捉能力是有极大关系的，营造出了太多精彩的画面，即使是默片，也毫无影响继续观看的欲望。 这是一部关于成长的电影，残酷且沉重的话题，只是导演用幽默的方式呈现出来，就像这片名，"我出生了，但......"，每个人的阶级出身不能由自己决定，但是两个小兄弟通过自己的努力使得在一群孩子里成了孩子王，可是父亲面对现实生活只好得像太郎的父亲点头哈腰以比来养家糊口。 或许两兄弟依然不明白为什么父亲不能成为一个大人物？ 不能反过来给太郎的父亲发薪水？ 我相信时间和成长会给他们答案，但是要改变现状可不是做"孩子王"这么容易的一件事情。