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 by	Yoji Yamada
Written by	Yoji Yamada Yoshitaka Asama
Starring	Kiyoshi Atsumi Rie Nakahara
Cinematography	Tetsuo Takaba
Edited by	Iwao Ishii
Music by	Naozumi Yamamoto
Distributed by	Shochiku
Release date	August 4, 1984 (1984-08-04)
Running time	102 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

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

• Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō^[4]
• Chieko Baisho as Sakura
• Rie Nakahara as Fūko Kogure
• Tsunehiko Watase as Tony
• Jun Miho as Akemi
• Shimojo Masami as Kuruma Tatsuzō
• Chieko Misaki as Tsune Kuruma (Torajiro's aunt)
• Taisaku Akino
• Gin Maeda as Hiroshi Suwa
• Hidetaka Yoshioka as Mitsuo Suwa
• Hisao Dazai as Boss (Umetarō Katsura)
• Gajirō Satō as Genkō
• Chishū Ryū as Gozen-sama

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]