I Flunked, But... | |
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Directed by | Yasujirō Ozu |
Screenplay by | Akira Fushimi, Yasujirō Ozu |
Starring | Tatsuo Saitō |
Cinematography | Hideo Shigehara |
Edited by | Hideo Shigehara |
Production company | |
Release date |
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Running time | 65 minutes |
Country | Japan |
Languages |
Silent film Japanese intertitles |
I Flunked, But... is a 1930 Japanese black and white silent film directed by Yasujirō Ozu. I Flunked, But... represented the first major role acted by Ozu's longtime collaborator Chishu Ryu. [1]
The film is one of several Ozu directed around this time dealing with student life. [2] The plot somewhat inverts that of Ozu's earlier film I Graduated, But.... [2] The film follows Takahashi, a college student, and his 4 roommates and 4 other friends. [2] Takahashi and his 4 friends intend to cheat on a test by writing notes on Takahashi's shirt. [2] [3] But the landlady sends the shirt to the laundry and Takahashi and his friends fail the test. [2] [3] Takahashi's roommates pass the test and graduate but can't find jobs and end up wishing they were back in school like Takahashi and his friends, who had to return to school. [2]
Film critic David Bordwell noted influences on the film from Harold Lloyd and Ernst Lubitsch. [2] A Kinema Jumpo critic criticized for lacking the "social bite" of some of Ozu's earlier films. [2]
Takahashi has a poster of Robert Milton's 1929 American film Charming Sinners hanging on his bedroom wall. [4]