There are several things going on
in this frame, each one more important to the shot relative to its distance
from the camera. The main subjects, and
what we’re most immediately drawn to, are the two boys. Both are dressed in mostly identical uniforms,
wearing backpacks, and carrying the snacks which appear to be the same as the
ones in the beginning of the film. It’s
clear from just their clothing that they are headed to school (asides from the
fact that they are taking their usual route).
More importantly, the two boys are clearly looking forward at something;
the one on the right seems more worried or concerned, while the other’s gaze appears
to be a bit more tentative. In the story’s
larger context, we know that this is near the end of the movie, as the kids see
their father’s boss waiting to cross the railroad. Since this was the matter of a confrontation the
day before, their nervous expressions aren’t that surprising.
Meanwhile their father in the
background attempts to light his cigarette (with little success). He is wearing his normal and shabby business
attire, and like the boys, the audience already knows where he is headed simply
by his outfit. More important are his
actions. Though his trying to strike a
match isn’t the focus of the shot, it does set up one subsequently where he isn’t
just struggling; he is unable because of his nervousness. It could even be read as a symbol of his
failings, but that interpretation may as well as be superfluous. It’s more worthwhile to notice that the
father has to be put in the background so that his whole body can fit within
the shot, making him look noticeably smaller than before. That implies yesterday’s fight with his
children was a humbling experience, or that at least he feels humiliated for having
his low stature in the workplace revealed.
Since we know the boys are looking at his boss, it wouldn’t be wrong to
assume that the father is seeking and failing to smoke as a way of avoiding his
superior and perhaps lessening his nerves.
Lastly there’s the train rumbling
through the scenery. Throughout the
movie there is the presence of industrialism looming as the backdrop, and, as a
film dealing with the relationships between underlings and those above them, it
does not bode well when industrialization also brings about the rise of
companies, employees, and managers. When
you include the barren trees, telephone poles, wilted grass, and dirt road, the
environment looks decidedly dismal. (Of course, that the film is in black and
white also adds to that impression, but that cannot really be helped).
Overall, this screencap, with the
kids, the father, and the train, represent many of the film’s themes at work,
while handily setting up their relative importance to each other according to
where they are placed in the frame. The train’s
appearance, marking up the farthest and only active part of the background,
creates the framework for the film’s narrative.
If it represents industrialism, and that is in turn the context of the
story, then the train isn’t simply a part of the background; it symbolizes the
backdrop for the entire movie. Next
there is the father, showing his own, mostly negative reaction to seeing his
boss with the truth exposed. (When he
sees him, he starts looking away and trying to smoke). This is central to the
movie, but it is still not the forefront subject. That would be the boys’ reaction to their father’s
situation, which we see in their reluctant gaze. But this is not the end, since we have not
yet seen them finish responding. A good thing
too, for otherwise the film will have ended only on a somber note without some
of its most important scenes of redemption. Though this screencap may be more dismal side,
it succinctly summarizes the film’s final conflict.
(Screencap of "I was Born, But..." - Directed by Ozu, Yasujiro
Taken from Google Images
https://www.google.com/search?
