Marriage Counselor Tora-san

Marriage Counselor Tora-san (男はつらいよ 夜霧にむせぶ寅次郎, Otoko wa Tsurai yo: Yogiri ni Musebu Torajirō) is a 1984 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Rie Nakahara as his love interest or "Madonna".[1] Marriage Counselor Tora-san is the thirty-third entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.

Marriage Counselor Tora-san
Theatrical poster for Marriage Counselor Tora-san (1984)
Directed byYoji Yamada
Written byYoji Yamada
Yoshitaka Asama
StarringKiyoshi Atsumi
Rie Nakahara
CinematographyTetsuo Takaba
Edited byIwao Ishii
Music byNaozumi Yamamoto
Distributed byShochiku
Release date
  • August 4, 1984 (1984-08-04)
Running time
102 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Synopsis

In Shibamata, Tokyo, Tora-san's family prepares for a wedding. Meanwhile, the traveling Tora-san meets an old acquaintance in Iwate Province. Tora-san refuses to drink with him, afraid that the acquaintance, now settled and married, will again become attracted to Tora-san's wandering existence. Tora-san becomes attracted to a female barber, but must break off their relationship so that she too can live a secure life. She instead gets into an abusive relationship with a motorcyclist.[2][3]

Cast

Critical appraisal

Stuart Galbraith IV writes that Marriage Counselor Tora-san is a better entry in the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series, though it differs considerably from other films in the series, both formally and thematically. Tora-san's wandering life is portrayed harshly, rather than light-heartedly, and his family's stable life is shown in the more positive light. Galbraith concludes, "With its darker tone and atypical structure, Tora-san's Marriage Counselor is like a breath of fresh air following a series of recent, somewhat repetitive entries."[3] The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Marriage Counselor Tora-san three and a half out of five stars.[5]

Availability

Marriage Counselor Tora-san was released theatrically on August 4, 1984.[6] In Japan, the film was released on videotape in 1987 and 1996, and in DVD format in 2005 and 2008.[7]

References
Notes
  1. "男はつらいよ 夜霧にむせぶ寅次郎 (Madonna)" (in Japanese). www.tora-san.jp. Archived from the original on 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2010-01-30. (official site)
  2. 男はつらいよ 夜霧にむせぶ寅次郎 (in Japanese). Kinema Junpo. Archived from the original on 2012-03-24. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
  3. Galbraith IV, Stuart (2007-05-15). "Tora-san 33". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
  4. 男はつらいよ 夜霧にむせぶ寅次郎 (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
  5. "Tora-San's Marriage Counselor" (in German). www.molodezhnaja.ch. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
  6. "男はつらいよ 夜霧にむせぶ寅次郎". Japanese Cinema Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Archived from the original on 2014-04-15. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
  7. 男はつらいよ 夜霧にむせぶ寅次郎 (1984) (in Japanese). allcinema.net. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
Bibliography
English
German
Japanese
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