Marriage Counselor Tora-san | |
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Theatrical poster for Marriage Counselor Tora-san (1984) |
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Directed by | Yoji Yamada |
Written by | Yoji Yamada Yoshitaka Asama |
Starring | Kiyoshi Atsumi Rie Nakahara |
Music by | Naozumi Yamamoto |
Cinematography | Tetsuo Takaba |
Editing by | Iwao Ishii |
Distributed by | Shochiku |
Release date(s) | August 4, 1984 |
Running time | 102 minutes |
Country | Japan |
Language | Japanese |
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.
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In Shibamata, Tokyo, Tora-san's family prepares for a wedding. Meanwhile, the traveling Tora-san meets an old acqaintance 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]
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]
Marriage Counselor Tora-san was released theatrically on August 4, 1984.[6] In Japan, the film has been released on videotape in 1987 and 1996, and in DVD format in 2005 and 2008.[7]
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