I Flunked But ...
(Rakudai wa shita Keredo...)
Screening on Film
With Tomio Aoki, Kinuyo Tanaka, Chishu Ryu.
Japan, 1930, 35mm, black & white, silent, 94 min.
Ozu was particularly fond of this college comedy because it was the first of his films to give Chishu Ryu, his favorite actor, a major role. (The great actress Kinuyo Tanaka, largely known for her roles in Mizoguchi’s films, also appears.) A student facing “exam hell” decides to cheat by writing crib notes on his shirt. The plan goes awry when an overly solicitous landlady sends the shirt to the laundry, thereby guaranteeing that the miscreant will fail. Ozu’s delectable irony lies in the “but ...” after flunking—the student’s failure turns out far sweeter than the success of his companions.
PRECEDED BY
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I Graduated But … (Daigaku wa Deta Keredo …)
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu.
With Utako Suzuki, Minoru Takada, Kinuyo Tanaka.
Japan, 1929, 35mm, black & white, silent, 10 min.
In this short reconstruction of an otherwise lost film, Ozu focuses on the unemployment that was rampant among college graduates in late-1920s Japan. The film’s protagonist, a recent graduate, turns down a position as a receptionist because it is beneath him. He returns home to discover that his mother and his fiancée have arrived from the country. Lying about his situation, the unemployed young man gets married, and his new wife is forced to work in a bar to make ends meet. Filled with references to American comedies (including a poster of Harold Lloyd’s Speedy), the rare I Graduated But … deftly combines social criticism and light-hearted humor.
Part of film series
Screenings from this program
Woman of Tokyo / A Mother Should Be Loved
Where Now are the Dreams of Youth?
The Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family
The Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family
Record of a Tenement Gentleman
I Was Born But...
The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice
An Autumn Afternoon
