Tora-san's Love in Osaka

Tora-san's Love in Osaka
Theatrical poster
Directed byYoji Yamada
Written byYoji Yamada
Yoshitaka Asama
StarringKiyoshi Atsumi
Keiko Matsuzaka
CinematographyTetsuo Takaba
Edited byIwao Ishii
Music byNaozumi Yamamoto
Distributed byShochiku
Release date
  • August 8, 1981 (1981-08-08)
Running time
104 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Tora-san's Love in Osaka (男はつらいよ 浪花の恋の寅次郎, Otoko wa Tsurai yo: Naniwa no Koi no Torajirō) aka Tora's Many-Splintered Love[1] is a 1981 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Keiko Matsuzaka as his love interest or "Madonna".[2] Tora-san's Love in Osaka is the twenty-seventh entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series. It was the first film in the series in which Hidetaka Yoshioka played the role of Tora-san's nephew Mitsuo Suwa.[3]

Synopsis

When his travels bring him to Osaka, Tora-san falls in love with a local geisha. He helps her to track down her estranged brother, and informs his family that he plans to marry her. His plans are foiled when the geisha informs Tora-san that she is engaged.[4][5][6]

Cast

Critical appraisal

Tora-san's Love in Osaka was the fifth top box-office money-maker in Japan for 1981.[5] For her role in the film Keiko Matsuzaka was named Best Actress at the Japan Academy Prize and Blue Ribbon Awards. Kiyoshi Atsumi was nominated for Best Actor by the Japanese Academy.[8]

Stuart Galbraith IV writes that Tora-san's Love in Osaka is an "above-average entry in this consistently excellent series". He points out that some of the film's humor may be lost on western viewers since it stems from the contrast between Tokyo and Osaka culture. Director Yamada, according to Galbraith, "obviously favors rural, remote Japan to sprawling urban landscapes like Osaka," but nevertheless, "the film plays as a heartfelt valentine to the city and its people."[5] The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Tora-san's Love in Osaka three and a half out of five stars.[3]

Availability

Tora-san's Love in Osaka was released theatrically on August 8, 1981.[9] In Japan, the film was released on videotape in 1986 and 1996, and in DVD format in 1998, 2002 and 2008.[10]

References

  1. ^ "OTOKO WA TSURAIYO -NANIWA NO KOI NO TORAJIRO". Complete Index to World Film. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
  2. ^ "男はつらいよ 浪花の恋の寅次郎 (Madonna)" (in Japanese). www.tora-san.jp. Retrieved 2010-01-21. (official site)
  3. ^ a b "Tora-San's Many-Splintered Love" (in German). www.molodezhnaja.ch. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
  4. ^ 男はつらいよ 浪花の恋の寅次郎 (in Japanese). Kinema Junpo. Archived from the original on 2012-03-21. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
  5. ^ a b c Galbraith IV, Stuart (2006-08-11). "Tora-san 27: Tora-san's Many-splintered Love (Region 3)". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
  6. ^ "OTOKO WA TSURAI YO NANIWA NO KOI NO TORAJIRO (1981)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 2012-10-17. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
  7. ^ 男はつらいよ 浪花の恋の寅次郎 (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
  8. ^ "Awards for Otoko wa tsurai yo: Naniwa no koi no Torajirô (1981)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
  9. ^ "男はつらいよ 浪花の恋の寅次郎". Japanese Cinema Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Archived from the original on 2014-02-26. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
  10. ^ 男はつらいよ 浪花の恋の寅次郎 (1981) (in Japanese). allcinema.net. Retrieved 2010-01-21.

Bibliography

English

German

Japanese