Movies Like I Was Born, But... (1932)

I Was Born, But... is a 1932 comedy, drama film from Yasujirō Ozu with a MovieMagicScore of 7.5/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with The Red Balloon and Keeping Up with the Joneses.

Comedy Drama

The Red Balloon

1956

A young boy discovers a stray balloon, which seems to have a mind of its own, on the streets of Paris. The two become inseparable, yet the world’s harsh realities finally interfere.

7.7

MagicScore

Keeping Up with the Joneses

2016

An ordinary suburban couple finds it’s not easy keeping up with the Joneses – their impossibly gorgeous and ultra-sophisticated new neighbors – especially when they discover that Mr. and Mrs. “Jones” are covert operatives.

6.1

MagicScore

Good Morning

1959

A lighthearted take on director Yasujiro Ozu’s perennial theme of the challenges of intergenerational relationships, Good Morning tells the story of two young boys who stop speaking in protest after their parents refuse to buy a television set. Ozu weaves a wealth of subtle gags through a family portrait as rich as those of his dramatic films, mocking the foibles of the adult world through the eyes of his child protagonists. Shot in stunning color and set in a suburb of Tokyo where housewives gossip about the neighbors’ new washing machine and unemployed husbands look for work as door-to-door salesmen, this charming comedy refashions Ozu’s own silent classic I Was Born, But . . . to gently satirize consumerism in postwar Japan.

7.7

MagicScore

The Girl from the Wardrobe

2013

This is the story of three characters (brothers Tomek and Jacek and their neighbor Magda), each of them is in their own way lonely and alienated. The title character makes herself secluded. Tomek's alienation results from his neurological disease, and Jacek contacts the world mainly via the Internet. This is also a film about love. Love of one brother to the other and of one alienated human being to the other. All together it creates a very universal picture with a Polish entourage.

5.8

MagicScore

Monster

2023

After an outburst at school involving her son, a concerned single mother demands answers, triggering a sequence of deepening suspicion and turmoil.

7.9

MagicScore

A Page of Madness

1926

A man takes a job at an asylum with hopes of freeing his imprisoned wife.

7.3

MagicScore

Tailored gentleman

1954

Cantinflas works as a model of tuxedos in a prestigious store, your job is to use the smoking in the street along with an advertising sign on his back. The use of smoking gives you access to exclusive places and meet important people. During this time, Cantinflas was the manager of an amateur boxer, it is an attractive nurse assistant and occasionally attending a priest in the church and the orphanage. However, a Cantinflas day while wearing tuxedo, is a rich man, who mistakenly believe that Cantinflas is a millionaire too.

7.1

MagicScore

The Magic of Belle Isle

2012

In an effort to tap into his original talent, a wheelchair-bound author moves to a rural town, where he befriends a single mother and her three kids, who help reignite his passion for writing.

7.0

MagicScore

Spanking the Monkey

1994

Bright young student Raymond Aibelli is forced to sidetrack an important medical internship because his mother, Susan, is recovering from a broken leg. When he isn't tasked with the most mundane aspects of Susan's recuperation, Raymond finds distraction in a neighborhood girl, Toni Peck. But, as Susan begins relying on her son for both physical and emotional needs, Raymond starts developing disturbing and unwanted new yearnings.

5.7

MagicScore

#10

When I Grow Up, I'll Be a Kangaroo

2004

A young student Braca is trying to seduce a beautiful model Iris. Although they are from two different worlds, they both try not to show it. In another story, Šomi and Duje anxiously follow the football match between Manchester and Eastwich. They bet on Eastwich, because their childhood friend Kengur is their goalkeeper. The plot of the third story takes place on the roof of the solitaire, where Avaks and Hibrid are wasting time in anticipation of something happening.

8.3

MagicScore

#11

The King of the Neighborhood

1950

A poor man becomes a modern Robin Hood, robbing the rich to give to the poor.

8.3

MagicScore

#12

American Beauty

1999

Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation with his daughter's attractive friend.

8.0

MagicScore

#13

Toy Story

1995

Led by Woody, Andy's toys live happily in his room until Andy's birthday brings Buzz Lightyear onto the scene. Afraid of losing his place in Andy's heart, Woody plots against Buzz. But when circumstances separate Buzz and Woody from their owner, the duo eventually learns to put aside their differences.

8.0

MagicScore

#14

A Raisin in the Sun

1961

Walter Lee Younger is a young man struggling with his station in life. Sharing a tiny apartment with his wife, son, sister and mother, he seems like an imprisoned man. Until, that is, the family gets an unexpected financial windfall.

7.7

MagicScore

#15

El Portero

1950

Cantinflas works as a porter, who writes letters and speeches in his old writing machine to earn an extra money, despite the fact that he still goes to school. The sentimental issues come when Cantinflas falls in love of his pretty neighborhood (Silvia Pinal), who is handicapped and unable to walk. The thing wont be easy, because a young military man also has feelings for the girl. But the porter wants to see her happy, and he will become a sort of Cyrano De Bergerac, writing love letters to her signed by the young soldier. His plan is simple: to win money in the horse races in order to pay the operation which will make her walk again.

7.5

MagicScore

#16

Gran Hotel

1944

Cantinflas is a vagrant being evicted for not paying rent, after wandering gets a job at the 'Grand Hotel' through a friend, that's confused by Count Zapatini, who is undercover in the hotel, stealing a gem making this funny movie more complicated.

7.2

MagicScore

#17

Midaq Alley

1995

Heated tempers, frustrated desires and dashed hopes plague a diverse group of individuals whose lives cross paths in Mexico City. There is the bar-owner's son, Chava, who yearns to emigrate to America. A poor barber, Abel, is madly in love with the gorgeous Alma, who eventually becomes a high-class prostitute. Finally, there is Susanita, the desperate spinster who pursues many love affairs in hopes of finding a husband.

7.0

MagicScore

#18

The 'Burbs

1989

When secretive new neighbors move in next door, suburbanite Ray Peterson and his friends let their paranoia get the best of them as they start to suspect the newcomers of evildoings and commence an investigation. But it's hardly how Ray, who much prefers drinking beer, reading his newspaper and watching a ball game on the tube expected to spend his vacation.

6.8

MagicScore

#19

Grumpy Old Men

1993

For decades, next-door neighbors and former friends John and Max have feuded, trading insults and wicked pranks. When an attractive widow moves in nearby, their bad blood erupts into a high-stakes rivalry full of naughty jokes and adolescent hijinks.

6.7

MagicScore

#20

Eden

2025

A group of disillusioned outsiders abandon modern society in search of a new beginning. Settling on a remote, uninhabited island, their utopian dream quickly unravels as they discover that the greatest threat isn’t the brutal climate or deadly wildlife, but each other.

6.7

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like I Was Born, But...?

The top films similar to I Was Born, But... by MovieMagicScore are The Red Balloon (7.7), Keeping Up with the Joneses (6.1), Good Morning (7.7). Each shares comedy/drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is I Was Born, But... worth watching?

I Was Born, But... holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.5/10 from 139 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is I Was Born, But...?

I Was Born, But... (1932) is a comedy, drama film directed by Yasujirō Ozu, starring Tatsuo Saitō, Tomio Aoki, Mitsuko Yoshikawa.

Where can I find more recommendations like I Was Born, But...?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more comedy recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like The Red Balloon Movies like Keeping Up with the Joneses Movies like Good Morning Movies like The Girl from the Wardrobe Movies like Monster Movies like A Page of Madness

About movies like I Was Born, But...

This ranked list pairs I Was Born, But... (1932), a comedy and drama film from Yasujirō Ozu, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Tatsuo Saitō take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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