The “Silent Ozu” film performance on September 14th, proved to be full of unexpected variety. Although all the movies were enlightening and entertaining in their own (comedic) right, the one that particularly caught my attention was I Was Born, But…  a so called “comedy of embarrassments” that Nornes indicated would end up being more than meets the eye. As the film kicked off, I was happily comfortable in my “English bubble” of sorts, with Nornes acting as the English benshi translator. However, as Ichiro Kataoka took center stage, I actually let myself become engrossed in the identity of the film. As I heard the Japanese dialogue (and occasionally read the English subtitles) I stopped focusing on the word-for-word, direct translation, that I have been accustomed to with traditional subtitling. Instead, I attempted to gain a more holistic understanding of the themes and viewpoints presented in this film, and of the multiple evidence of translation.

Surprisingly, I had to keep reminding myself that the movie soundtrack, performed on site by “The Little Bang Theory,” and the narration by Ichiro Kataoka was not actually a part of the feature film. I began to forget that these essential elements, or essential to a movie-goer in the post silent-cinema age, were added in live. The fusion of parts all seemed to flow perfectly together, in a sense that it was not three separate experiences, but one. The soundtrack was the perfect backdrop of emotions, and Kataoka personified each character with a poetic distinction. As the plot line continued to develop, and I began to connect with the trials and tribulations of the two young protagonists, Ryoichi and Kenji, I recognized themes of societal structure, family dynamics, coming of age, and many others similar to the typical Hollywood movie. I began to forget that I was watching a foreign film, let alone a benshi-narrated foreign film.  ”Silent Ozu” truly was an experience of complete translation; translation between the layers of culture, linguistics, and visual art.