I Was Born, But...

I Was Born, But...

1932 · 91 min · ★ 7.5 · Comedy, Drama

Brothers Keiji and Ryoichi move to a new neighborhood in the Tokyo suburbs after their father, an office clerk, is promoted. The boys join the local gang as lowly new kids and emerge as natural leaders after defeating a bully. While visiting the home of their father's boss, the brothers witness the ridicule their father endures to please his superior. Angry and embarrassed, the boys find their naive ideas about power being challenged.

Directed by Yasujirō Ozu · Written by Akira Fushimi

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

KanopyCriterion Channel

Cast

Make it a double feature

2h 27m together

I Was Born, But...

Dreams of Youth

Both from Yasujirō Ozu.

More from Yasujirō OzuSee all →

Sword of PenitenceSword of Penitence · 1927
Sword of Penitence
10.01927
MovieDrama
Two criminal brothers try to go straight but face opposition from one of their criminal cohorts. Considered to be a lost film.
Dreams of YouthDreams of Youth · 1928
Dreams of Youth
10.01928
MovieComedy
Lost silent film
The Luck Which Touched the LegThe Luck Which Touched the Leg · 1930
The Luck Which Touched the Leg
10.01930
MovieDrama
A salaryman finds some money in the street and gets a reward for returning it to its rightful owner. However his colleagues immediately start borrowing money and selling him things he doesn't need, much to his wife's annoyance. Considered to be a lost film.
Tokyo StoryTokyo Story · 1953
Tokyo Story
8.11953
MovieDrama
The elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children in Tokyo. Their elder son, Koichi, a doctor, and their daughter, Shige, a hairdresser, don't have much time to spend with their aged parents, and so it falls to Noriko, the widow of their younger son who was killed in the war, to keep her in-laws company.
Late SpringLate Spring · 1949
Late Spring
8.01949
MovieDrama
Noriko is perfectly happy living at home with her widowed father, Shukichi, and has no plans to marry -- that is, until her aunt Masa convinces Shukichi that unless he marries off his 27-year-old daughter soon, she will likely remain alone for the rest of her life. When Noriko resists Masa's matchmaking, Shukichi is forced to deceive his daughter and sacrifice his own happiness to do what he believes is right.
An Autumn AfternoonAn Autumn Afternoon · 1962
An Autumn Afternoon
7.91962
MovieDrama
Widower Shuhei Hirayama's caretaker is his 24-year-old daughter, Michiko. Gradually, he comes to realize that Michiko should not be obliged to look after him for the rest of his life, so he arranges a marriage for her.
Early SummerEarly Summer · 1951
Early Summer
7.91951
MovieDrama
In postwar Tokyo, Noriko lives with her extended family. Although she enjoys her career and her social life, her more traditional family worries about her single marital status at the advanced age of 28. 40-year-old business associate Takako proposes, Noriko's family press her into accepting, but when her widowed childhood friend Kenkichi returns to the neighborhood, she finds her heart leading in another direction.
Wings of DesireWings of Desire · 1987
Wings of Desire
7.81987
MovieDramaFantasy
Two angels, Damiel and Cassiel, glide through the streets of Berlin, observing the bustling population, providing invisible rays of hope to the distressed but never interacting with them. When Damiel falls in love with lonely trapeze artist Marion, the angel longs to experience life in the physical world, and finds — with some words of wisdom from actor Peter Falk — that it might be possible for him to take human form.
Late AutumnLate Autumn · 1960
Late Autumn
7.71960
MovieDramaComedy
A woman and her daughter are each forced to contend with an increasing pressure to marry, particularly from three men who knew her late husband.
Good MorningGood Morning · 1959
Good Morning
7.71959
MovieComedyFamily
Two boys beg their parents for a television set, nagging them until all patience is lost. The parents order the boys to be quiet and the boys do exactly that--refusing to utter a word. The boys' silence ultimately puts the whole neighborhood into turmoil.
Tokyo TwilightTokyo Twilight · 1957
Tokyo Twilight
7.71957
MovieDrama
Two sisters learn about the existence of their long-lost biological mother, but the younger is unable to accept the fact that she was abandoned as a child.
The Flavor of Green Tea Over RiceThe Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice · 1952
The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice
7.51952
MovieDrama
The arranged marriage between a capricious woman from Tokyo high society and a quiet rustic man is tested by a marital crisis.
The End of SummerThe End of Summer · 1961
The End of Summer
7.51961
MovieDrama
The family of an older man who runs a small sake brewery become concerned with his finances and his health after they discover him visiting an old mistress from his youth.
Early SpringEarly Spring · 1956
Early Spring
7.51956
MovieDramaRomance
A young salaryman and his wife struggle within the confines of their passionless relationship while he embarks on an extramarital affair.
Floating WeedsFloating Weeds · 1959
Floating Weeds
7.51959
MovieDrama
A theater troupe master's visit with his old flame unintentionally sets off a chain of unexpected events with devastating consequences.
Equinox FlowerEquinox Flower · 1958
Equinox Flower
7.41958
MovieComedyDrama
Wataru's outwardly liberal views on marriage are severely tested when his daughter declares her love for a coworker and is adamant to live her own way, instead of agreeing to an arranged marriage. Outwitted by his female relatives, Hirayama stubbornly refuses to admit defeat.

More Like This

Mon OncleMon Oncle · 1958
Mon Oncle
7.41958
MovieComedy
Genial, bumbling Monsieur Hulot loves his top-floor apartment in a grimy corner of the city, and cannot fathom why his sister's family has moved to the suburbs. Their house is an ultra-modern nightmare, which Hulot only visits for the sake of stealing away his rambunctious young nephew. Hulot's sister, however, wants to win him over to her new way of life, and conspires to set him up with a wife and job.
7 Virgins7 Virgins · 2005
7 Virgins
6.12005
MovieDramaCrime
It is summertime in a blue-collar, marginal district of a city in the South of Spain. Tano, a teenager currently serving a sentence in a juvenile reform center, is given a 48-hour leave to attend his brother’s wedding.
People on SundayPeople on Sunday · 1930
People on Sunday
7.21930
MovieDrama
A semi-documentary experimental 1930 German silent film created by amateurs with a small budget. With authentic scenes of the metropolis city of Berlin, it's the first film from the later famous screenwriters/directors Billy Wilder and Fred Zinnemann.
Ed WoodEd Wood · 1994
Ed Wood
7.51994
MovieComedyDrama
The mostly true story of the legendary "worst director of all time", who, with the help of his strange friends, filmed countless B-movies without ever becoming famous or successful.
The Bridge on the River KwaiThe Bridge on the River Kwai · 1957
The Bridge on the River Kwai
7.81957
MovieDramaHistory
The classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. British and American intelligence officers conspire to blow up the structure, but Col. Nicholson, the commander who supervised the bridge's construction, has acquired a sense of pride in his creation and tries to foil their plans.
Toy StoryToy Story · 1995
Toy Story
8.01995
MovieFamilyComedy
Led by Woody, Andy's toys live happily in his room until Andy's birthday brings Buzz Lightyear onto the scene. Afraid of losing his place in Andy's heart, Woody plots against Buzz. But when circumstances separate Buzz and Woody from their owner, the duo eventually learns to put aside their differences.
DollsDolls · 2002
Dolls
7.52002
MovieDramaRomance
Dolls takes puppeteering as its overriding motif, which relates thematically to the action provided by the live characters. Chief among those tales is the story of Matsumoto and Sawako, a young couple whose relationship is about to be broken apart by the former's parents, who have insisted their son take part in an arranged marriage to his boss' daughter.
A Trip to the MoonA Trip to the Moon · 1902
A Trip to the Moon
7.91902
MovieAdventureScience Fiction
Professor Barbenfouillis and five of his colleagues from the Academy of Astronomy travel to the Moon aboard a rocket propelled by a giant cannon. Once on the lunar surface, the bold explorers face the many perils hidden in the caves of the mysterious planet.
The Passion of Joan of ArcThe Passion of Joan of Arc · 1928
The Passion of Joan of Arc
8.01928
MovieDramaHistory
A classic of the silent age, this film tells the story of the doomed but ultimately canonized 15th-century teenage warrior. On trial for claiming she'd spoken to God, Jeanne d'Arc is subjected to inhumane treatment and scare tactics at the hands of church court officials. Initially bullied into changing her story, Jeanne eventually opts for what she sees as the truth. Her punishment, a famously brutal execution, earns her perpetual martyrdom.
Pandora's BoxPandora's Box · 1929
Pandora's Box
7.41929
MovieDramaCrime
The rise and inevitable fall of an amoral but naive young woman whose insouciant eroticism inspires lust and violence in those around her.
The GeneralThe General · 1926
The General
7.91926
MovieComedyWar
During America’s Civil War, Union spies steal engineer Johnny Gray's beloved locomotive, 'The General'—with Johnnie's lady love aboard an attached boxcar—and he single-handedly must do all in his power to both get The General back and to rescue Annabelle.
The Gold RushThe Gold Rush · 1925
The Gold Rush
8.01925
MovieAdventureComedy
A gold prospector in Alaska struggles to survive the elements and win the heart of a dance hall girl.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter