Tora-san's Promise

Tora-san's Promise

Theatrical poster
Directed by Yoji Yamada
Written by Yoji Yamada
Yoshitaka Asama
Starring Kiyoshi Atsumi
Mikiko Otonashi
Music by Naozumi Yamamoto
Cinematography Tetsuo Takaba
Edited by Iwao Ishii
Distributed by Shochiku
Release dates
  • December 28, 1981
Running time
101 minutes
Country Japan
Language Japanese

Tora-san's Promise (男はつらいよ 寅次郎紙風船 Otoko wa Tsurai yo: Torajirō Kamifūsen) aka Torasan and a Paper Balloon[1] is a 1981 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Mikiko Otonashi as his love interest or "Madonna".[2] Tora-san's Promise is the twenty-eighth entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.

Synopsis

Tora-san returns to his family's home to attend an elementary school class reunion. After he embarrasses himself by getting drunk and insulting all his ex-classmates, he resumes his travels. In Kyushu he meets an outspoken 18-year-old girl who becomes enamored of Tora-san and follows him around. One of Tora-san's old friends is terminally ill and makes Tora-san promise him to marry his wife once he is gone.[3][4][5]

Cast

Critical appraisal

Stuart Galbraith IV writes that Tora-san's Promise is a middle-quality entry in the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series, though the series has a high standard.[4] The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Tora-san's Promise three and a half out of five stars.[7]

Availability

Tora-san's Promise was released theatrically on December 28, 1981.[8] In Japan, the film has been released on videotape in 1986 and 1996, and in DVD format in 2002 and 2008.[9]

References

Bibliography

English

German

Japanese

External links