Where Now Are the Dreams of Youth? is a 1932 film from Japan directed by Yasujiro Ozu.
Four young men—Tetsuo Horino, Saiki, Kumada, and Shimazaki—are college buddies. Tetsuo has a crush on Shige, the waitress at the pastry shop that caters to students from the college. Tetsuo is the richest by far, something that doesn't particularly matter until his father dies suddenly, and Tetsuo has to quit school to take command of the family business.
A year passes, as Tetsuo tries to adjust to being the CEO of Horino Trading Company. His three buddies, who have all graduated, come to him looking for jobs. Tetsuo cheerfully agrees and gets the other three jobs, going so far as to help them cheat on the employment test. However, he's now their boss, and class distinctions now separate the old friends.
This is a Silent Movie, as silent film production hung on in East Asia for quite a while after Hollywood went to talkies.
Tropes:
- As You Know: Tetsuo comes home to find his father Kenzuo in a robe swilling beer. Kenzuo cheerfully says "I don't seem like the president of Horino Trading Company when I'm drinking half-naked like this!"
- The Chains of Commanding: It's not like he's king or anything, but Tetsuo taking the reins of the corporation and assuming his place in the social elite ruptures his old friendships and causes him to lose working-class Shige.
- Eat the Evidence: When Tetsuo is called to the front of the room during the exam, he crams the cheat sheet into his mouth. When he finds out his father is gravely ill, he spits the soggy wad of paper out.
- The Generation Gap: Demonstrated with Baroness Yamamura and her daughter, who is a potential match for Tetsuo. The mother is prim and proper and wears a kimono, while the daughter is brassy and assertive and wears a Western-style dress and smokes.
- Hand Rubbing: When Tetsuo makes his first entrance into the Horino office, one of his underlings bows and then starts rubbing his hands together in an unsettling manner while talking. Tetsuo sees this, grabs the man's hand, looks at it curiously, and then shakes it.
- The Matchmaker: Tetsuo's uncle Kanzo Horino keeps trying to match him up with fancy rich girls. Tetsuo keeps rejecting them, because he's sweet on Shige.
- The Plot Reaper: The sudden death of Tetsuo's father from an aneurysm gets the main plot going.
- Questioning Title?: Where Now Are the Dreams of Youth?
- Sarcasm Failure: Or more like a deliberate refusal to catch the sarcasm. Tetsuo is stuck on a date with one of the rich girls his uncle keeps trying to match him with. They're going to the movies when the girl says that movies are boring and suggests something else. Tetsuo snarks "How about Mt. Sakata, the top choice for double suicides?". All the girl says in response is "Sounds great!"
- Time Skip: A one-year time skip between Tetsuo uncomfortably settling into his father's job, and his three friends approaching him and looking for work.
- Uptown Girl: Gender-flipped. Tetsuo finds out that Shige has gotten engaged to Saiki, because Saiki is a working stiff like her, and Tetsuo is out of her social class.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Kumada cheats on a test by faking a broken arm and wearing a cast into the exam room. His cheat sheet is hidden in the cast.
