Event

I Was Born, But . . .

One of the great silent comedies and master director Yasujiro Ozu's first Best Film Award winner, I Was Born, But . . . is a blithe portrait of the financial and psychological toils of one family, as told from the rascally point of view of a couple of stubborn little boys. For two brothers, the daily struggles of bullies and mean teachers is nothing next to the mortification they feel when they realize their good-natured father's low-rung social status. I Was Born, But has been compared to Hal Roach's Our Gang series. Yet it is much more, reflecting a tumultuous 1930s Japan being shorn of its traditions. Reworked decades later as Ozu's Technicolor comedy Good Morning, it's a poignant evocation of the tumult of childhood, as well as a showcase for Ozu's expertly timed comedy editing.

Japan, 1932, 91 min., bw, 35mm / Director: Yasujiro Ozu / Writer: Akira Fushimi / Cast Tatsuo Saito, Mitsuko Yoshikawa, Hideo Sugawara, Tomio Aoki, Takeshi Sakamoto

Ben Model is one of the USA's leading silent film accompanists, and has been playing piano and organ for silents at the Museum of Modern Art in New York for the past 27 years. Ben co-curated MoMA's "Cruel and Unusual Comedy" series and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle retrospective, and also curated Shout!Factory's new "Ernie Kovacs Collection" DVD box set. A five-time recipient of the Meet The Composer grant, Ben is a regular accompanist at classic film festivals around the U.S.A. and in Norway, and performs at universities, museums, and historic theaters. Ben is the producer and co-founder of The Silent Clowns Film Series, now in its 14th season in NYC. Ben's recorded scores can be heard on numerous DVD releases from Kino Video and others. Ben's composed ensemble scores for films by Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd are performed around the U.S. every year by orchestras .and by concert bands.