Tora-san's Tropical Fever

Tora-san's Tropical Fever (男はつらいよ 寅次郎ハイビスカスの花, Otoko wa Tsurai yo: Torajirō Haibisukasu no Hana)^[1] aka Torasan Goes to Hisbiscus Land^[2] is a 1980 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Ruriko Asaoka as his love interest or "Madonna".^[3] Tora's Tropical Fever is the twenty-fifth entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.

Tora-san's Tropical Fever
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Yoji Yamada
Written by	Yoji Yamada Yoshitaka Asama
Starring	Kiyoshi Atsumi Ruriko Asaoka
Cinematography	Tetsuo Takaba
Edited by	Iwao Ishii
Music by	Naozumi Yamamoto
Distributed by	Shochiku
Release date	August 2, 1980 (1980-08-02)
Running time	104 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Shochiku theatrically released a Special Edition version to theaters in 1997. It used computer graphics to add Hidetaka Yoshioka (who played Tora-san's nephew in the later films) to the story in added scenes.

Plot

Lily, the lounge singer with whom Tora-san fell in love in film 11 (Tora-san's Forget Me Not, 1973) and film 15 (Tora-san's Rise and Fall, 1975) sends Tora-san a letter informing him that she is terminally ill. Tora-san rushes to Okinawa—taking his first plane trip in the process—to be at her side and nurse her to health.^[4][5][6]

Cast

• Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō^[7]
• Chieko Baisho as Sakura
• Ruriko Asaoka as Lily
• Masami Shimojō as Kuruma Tatsuzō
• Chieko Misaki as Tsune Kuruma (Torajiro's aunt)
• Gin Maeda as Hiroshi Suwa
• Hisao Dazai as Boss (Umetarō Katsura)
• Hayato Nakamura as Mitsuo Suwa
• Gajirō Satō as Genkō
• Suzuko Aragaki as Kaori Yamazato

Critical appraisal

Writer-director Yoji Yamada reportedly considers Tora's Tropical Fever his own favorite of the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series films.^[6] The Japan Academy awarded Yamada and co-writer Yoshitaka Asama Best Screenplay for the film. Chieko Baisho was also given the Best Actress award, and Kiyoshi Atsumi was nominated for Best Actor at the ceremony.^[8] The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Tora's Tropical Fever four out of five stars, naming it one of the highlights of the series.^[9] Stuart Galbraith IV judges the film "one of the best of the series", and a "delight in every respect: it's funny, sad, and perceptive about human nature".^[6]

Availability

Tora-san's Tropical Fever was released theatrically on August 2, 1980.^[10] In Japan, the film was released on videotape in 1996 and 1998, and in DVD format in 2008.^[11]