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
Cinematography	Tetsuo Takaba
Edited by	Iwao Ishii
Music by	Naozumi Yamamoto
Distributed by	Shochiku
Release date	December 28, 1981 (1981-12-28)
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), also called Torasan and a Paper Balloon in some regions, ^[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

• Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō ^[6]
• Chieko Baisho as Sakura
• Mikiko Otonashi as Mitsue Kuratomi
• Kayoko Kishimoto as Aiko Odajima
• Shimojo Masami as Kuruma Tatsuzō
• Chieko Misaki as Tsune Kuruma (Torajiro's aunt)
• Hiroshi Inuzuka as Shigeru
• Gin Maeda as Hiroshi Suwa
• Takeo Chii as Kenkichi Odajima
• Hidetaka Yoshioka as Mitsuo Suwa
• Hisao Dazai as Boss (Umetarō Katsura)

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 was released on videotape in 1986 and 1996, and in DVD format in 2002 and 2008. ^[9]

References

1. "OTOKO WA TSURAIYO -TORAJIRO KAMIFUSEN". Complete Index to World Film . Retrieved 2010-01-21.
2. "男はつらいよ 寅次郎紙風船 (Madonna)" (in Japanese). www.tora-san.jp. Retrieved 2010-01-21. (official site)
3. 男はつらいよ 寅次郎紙風船 (in Japanese). Kinema Junpo. Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
4. Galbraith IV, Stuart (2007-04-03). "Tora-san 28: Tora-san's Promise (Region 3)". DVD Talk . Retrieved 2010-01-21.
5. "OTOKO WA TSURAI YO TORAJIRO KAMIFUSEN (1981)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 2012-10-17. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
6. 男はつらいよ 寅次郎紙風船 (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database . Retrieved 2010-01-21.
7. "Tora-San's Promise" (in German). www.molodezhnaja.ch. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
8. "男はつらいよ 寅次郎紙風船". Japanese Cinema Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Archived from the original on 2014-03-05. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
9. 男はつらいよ 寅次郎紙風船 (1981) (in Japanese). allcinema.net. Retrieved 2010-01-21.

Bibliography

English

• "OTOKO WA TSURAI YO TORAJIRO KAMIFUSEN (1981)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 2012-10-17. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
• "OTOKO WA TSURAIYO -TORAJIRO KAMIFUSEN". Complete Index to World Film . Retrieved 2010-01-21.
• Otoko wa tsurai yo: Torajiro kamifusen (1981) at IMDb
• Galbraith IV, Stuart (2007-04-03). "Tora-san 28: Tora-san's Promise (Region 3)". DVD Talk . Retrieved 2010-01-21.

German

• "Tora-San's Promise" (in German). www.molodezhnaja.ch. Retrieved 2010-01-21.

Japanese

• 男はつらいよ 寅次郎紙風船 (1981) (in Japanese). allcinema.net. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
• "男はつらいよ 寅次郎紙風船". Japanese Cinema Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Archived from the original on 2014-03-05. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
• 男はつらいよ 寅次郎紙風船 (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database . Retrieved 2010-01-21.
• 男はつらいよ 寅次郎紙風船 (in Japanese). Kinema Junpo. Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2010-01-21.

External links

• Tora-san's Promise Archived 2014-07-29 at the Wayback Machine at www.tora-san.jp (official site)