Daigaku wa detakeredo

An early Ozu short about a young graduate who can't bring himself to accept a low-on-the-food-chain position at an office because he feels he's overqualified; and the consequences of that decision.

Very bittersweet stuff, with a great ending that's happy, but not unabashedly happy. Like a lot of later Ozu works, 'I Graduated, But...' is a humble, down-to-earth story about ordinary people and its joy comes from their minor (meaningless in the great scheme) triumphs.

Especially noteworthy are a couple of shots of the main character at the bar, filmed from table height and incredibly striking, a Harold Lloyd poster that shows up in the background several times, and the conflict between tradition and modernity illustrated by the film's second-to-last shot of a moving train.

'I Graduated, But...' is recommended to Ozu fans and to fans of silent cinema in general.

It is important for potential viewers to understand that Ozu's early effort, "I Graduated, But..." is a lost film; only fragments of its original seventy minutes are available for viewing, and therefore the pacing is quite poor and it definitely feels like there is a huge chunk missing to the simplistic story Ozu tells. What is left of the film is, to say the least, quite fascinating, allowing audience members to have a glimpse at a cinematic master's first years of filmmaking. Ozu adjusts himself to the art form he would soon change forever in a way that is as charming and wholesome as one could hope for. There are some very funny moments in the film's twelve remaining minutes, but it isn't nearly as humorous as it was in its original form, drying this intended comedy of its seeming purpose; to provoke laughter. However, this is not the film's fault, for this great cinematic loss was only a fact of chance.

This about a man who has just graduated from university, but cant get a job, is too short to really do much except for conveying Ozu's genuine love for people and everyday life. Not at all an expert on silents, but I bet that not many directors where so down to earth at that time. From the German expressionist films I have seen ('Nibelungen', 'Nosferatu', 'Metropolis' and so on) this is quite a revolution. As the Germans take the drama and the romantic very far, Ozu stays at home with real people. While the Germans are Wagnerian, Ozu is far more subtle.

His device of storytelling lies mostly in the interaction of the characters with little to come in between each scene. Most are shot indoors.

Only about eight minutes of Ozu's 70-minute feature seem to exist. It's concerned with Minoru Takada's seemingly endless quest to find a job, while loyal wife Kinuyo Tanaka tries to deal with the threat of loss of money and descent into the underclass. What happens when you do everything right, and nothing works?

It's not a new problem, and as the current COVID-19 pandemic continues into its second year, it's not one that has been solved. Ozu tells his story well, using only visuals: Takada's cigarette, dangling from his lips, but never lit. He can't afford to smoke it. Miss Tanaka at their apartment's balcony, looking at the view they may soon lose: what then? The inevitable movie poster on the wall, from Harold Lloyd's comedy hit SPEEDY: stuck on the bench, not given a chance to play.

I hope the full movie will turn up and I get a chance to see it.

As a 12-minute fragment is all that remains of this early work from Japanese master Yasujiro Ozu. Young man Tetsuo (Minoru Takada) is a recent college graduate looking for a job in Tokyo. His mother (Utako Suzuki) and wife Machiko (Kinuyo Tanaka) come to visit from the country, and he lies to them, saying that he has a job. It's only after his mother leaves that he confides in his wife that no jobs are hiring. Machiko eventually gets a job as a barmaid, embarrassing Tetsuo.

There's not a lot of time for nuance, but enough of Ozu's small, human touches remain to make this enjoyable. The universal appeal of the story line, relevant even today, is a plus. I also liked how American culture is present in several small ways, even in pre-WW2 Japan, such as the characters smoking Camel brand cigarettes, and a Harold Lloyd Speedy poster on the wall in Tetsuo's room. I wish the entire film had survived, but this fragment alone is worth seeing.