Comparison and Contrast of the Movies: I Was Born But, Osaka Elegy and Seven Samurai

I Was Born But

The film is premised on the story of two brothers Ryoichi and Keiji who move in with their father in the suburbs of Tokyo (Ozu, 2014). The story of these two boys depicts how children learn of the social roles, hierarchy, and power relations in society. Their experience after moving to the city gave them an opportunity to interact with the bullies and have firsthand exposure to the operations of the social roles as well as the hierarchy in society. The duo is celebrated as being newcomers in the city and having the capability of fighting off the bullies in the town. I share a similar experience with the two brothers Ryoichi and Keiji. Children ought to learn about these roles from society, through their parents and their peers. Viewing silent film such as I was born but is important as it helps an individual to internalize the events and the scenes as opposed to watching the sound films.

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In most cases where I have watched silent films, I have always given a more profound thought on the events and the themes as opposed to the times I watch sound films. The film I was born but revolves around several themes. The most important aspect of the film that has my attention if the psychological and financial turmoil that families undergo as a result of the expectation of their children. Thus, silent films are more expressive regarding their messages than the sound films. Therefore, making these silent films requires the utmost attention of the production team and their focus to be on the message which is being communicated.

Disillusionment often takes place on the realization of something that is not good as one would have believed. In I was born but, the two brothers were disillusioned on realizing the social status of their father. I have been disillusioned on the operations of the government because of the promises the politicians make during campaigns. My parents have always been supportive, and I still give them the respect they deserve. However, they made me believe in a world free of struggle which has not been the case. Dialogues help the viewers to gain insights into the movie. Dialogues with shots including only the speaker always emphasize the tone of the scene while those with the speaker and the listener always focus on the body language. Thus, the filmmakers always choose one over the other depending on the importance of the message to be passed. The movie has its settings in the Tokyo Suburbs making it a Japanese film. The film takes the viewer through the suburbs of Tokyo as well as the culture in these regions. The movie gives a clear depiction of the life of the middle-class Japanese citizens, during 1932, when the movie was shot. The movie within a movie used by Ozu is a literary device used in the film has both symbolic and psychological meaning to the characters in the story. Incorporating these aspects of literature such as art, music and many others help in enhancing the storyline.

Osaka Elegy

The film is premised on the story of a Japanese telephone operator who loses her job and joins an illegal trade, prostitution to fend for herself. Ayako, the main character in the film, gets into an argument with her father, who then throws her out of the house, thus, prompting her to get into a relationship with Asai, her boss in the pharmaceutical firm (Mizoguchi et al., 2012). When Asai's wife discovers the illicit relationship between Asai and Ayako, the relationship is terminated, thus, throwing Ayako into financial distress. The parents, who have been the primary beneficiary of the monetary benefits that are drawn from the relationship distance her at her helpless state when the police discover that she is a prostitute and arrest her. They then proceed to brand her a disgrace to their honourable family. Importantly, the film is a depiction of the Japanese culture and would draw one into having an understanding that there is different caste involved in the village feuds. The fundamental rule is that the cast should not mix and such would be treated as a taboo and against the social norms of the Japanese culture.

The double standard applies when the way through which one is treated is different from the manner in which the other part gets treatment. In society, men tend to receive preferential treatment compared to women, thus, double standards. An example is how female sex workers are deemed as prostitutes and not male sex workers. In the film, some scenes are set at night to depict the nature of the trade that is highlighted within the film. Prostitution is an act that is majorly done during the night and the night scene would supplement the message that it is meant to portray to the audience. The sentiment that results when a scene is shot at night is that of a sinful experience being depicted or adult content. In the film, is some of the scenes were set during the day, there would be a mix-up in the message that is being sent out to the clients.

Theatre scenes are used in the same manner in films Late Spring and Osaka Elegy. The theatre scenes are meant to bring out to the audience the Japanese culture and the caste system that is revered by the Japanese. Nature or manner in which a scene is shot also tends to add an effect into the film. For example, when a scene is shot through the window, there is an indication to the audience that the scene is private and would require either parental advisory in viewing or explicit content likely to be brought about in the film. In the movie Osaka Elegy, many scenes are done through the film, to bring out the perception of the explicit content that ought not to be shown to be depicted to the public being advanced in the movie.

In the film, the director is realistic in the manner in which he depicts the nature of segregation that women have to go through. In reality, men are domineering over the women in society, and the societal ills are associated with the women in the community. For example, the association of prostitution with the lady and not the male boss who gets into an illicit affair with her is an affirmation of the nature of segregation that women have to go through on a routine basis.

Seven Samurai

Seven Samurai is a film that depicts a village that is under attack, and one man takes the initiative to strategize how he could protect the entire village (Kurosawa & Richie, 1970). Samurai is a brave villager who understands that the bandits have the capability of taking away their wealth. He also understands that he would not be able to fight alone, thus, the need to mobilize and train his fellow kin. Notably, the author of the film tends to portray an image of the distant past. Such is meant to remind the public, especially the Japanese audience, of how their ways of life have metamorphosed throughout life. Painting of an image of the distant past is first premised on the type of costume that the characters in the film have to wear.

The film also draws one into having an understanding of how injustice ought to be challenged within the society. The fight against injustice can be realized when there is better organization of the community into fighting the ills that tend to confront them. The decision by a patriotic member of the society to mobile fellow kin into strategizing how they could repel the 40 bandits against any attack that they would front is a notable example of how injustice should be best challenged. Advocacy and the reminder to the public about their rights and the legal mechanism that they could exploit to fight for the enjoyment of such rights is one notable way through which injustice could be realized. However, I am not willing to deny other people, especially those deemed as being oppressive of right in the quest for justice. Violence is ay times one way that society may resort to when they have the intention of defending themselves against any external aggression as is the case in the film. However, the community has an obligation of ensuring that the violence that is meted is only limited to those who advance such war and does not affect the vulnerable population such as women and children.

The images that are used in the film are exciting and would draw one into having a better understanding of societal relations (Kurosawa & Richie, 1970). The dirty frame is created through the depiction of the war that is waged between the two contesting groups and the costumes that they wear with some of the characters being half naked in the film. The chemistry between the foreground, middle ground and the background shots are utilized in ensuring that the film has excellent cinematographic ratings.

One of the prominent aspects of the film is the lack of active involvement of women in the film. For example, there are no women who prominent platy roles in the film. Such does not mean that the character is dismissive of women. However, the film is set with the ancient context of the Japanese society. In such era, women were relegated into taking care of the house chores as men took control of the critical aspects of the society. The issue of defending society was an exclusive role that men had to play. Gender relations are crucial aspects in the determination of the plot of the film. However, gender relations are also done within a context and the message that the film is meant to pass to their audience. In the movie, women are seen as playing the subordinate roles compared to that of men.

Musical motifs are also significant contributors to the film. Musical themes are used in the movie to bring about the vital role that the music plays in the society and how into contributing to the mobilization of the residents into coming together for a common cause. Musical motifs are critical in the building of the moods that the audience is likely to develop in the film. Additionally, music has also been used in bringing out the traits of the main character. For example, the music depicts Samurai as being a bold character as portrayed by the use of sing when they fight off the bandits within the film. Music also enhances storytelling in a movie.

Comparison and Contrast of the Movies

The three movies I was born but, Osaka Elegy, and Seven Samurai have their themes centred on the issues that affect people in their daily lives. These movies have their primary themes like a duty, identity, society and class, warfare, defeat, and society and ethics. According to Kenji Mizoguchi, the director of Osaka Elegy, which he considers to be his first serious work, the movie provided him with an avenue of showing life as he sees it. The movies also represent a transition from the contemporary era to modern Japan (Phillips & Stringer, 2008). The transition is evident in the opening scenes of the Osaka Elegy, which has its first shots depicting blazing neon signs on the modern Japanese architecture which shifts to the old shells as soon as the sun rises. The same trend is also observed in Seven Samurai, which blends the Japanese and American culture to create the impression of contemporary era and modernism. The Seven Samurai movie was inspired by the Akira Kurosawa's love for cowboy and adventure pictures taken from Hollywood.

I was born but also takes the same trend depicting two young brothers of the Yoshi family who have lost faith in their father. The family moved from the upcountry to the Tokyo suburbs next to their father's boss. The movie portrays the psychological and financial turmoil of families across Japan as depicted by the two stubborn little boys. From the movie, people tend to value social status more than their daily problems. The two brothers are seen to value the social status of their father than their daily struggles such as bullying and frustrations from teachers. The difference in the timeframe for production of these movies has not affected their ranking in...