Tora-san's Love Call explained

Tora-san's Love Call
Director:	Yoji Yamada
Starring:	Kiyoshi Atsumi Junko Ikeuchi
Music:	Naozumi Yamamoto
Cinematography:	Tetsuo Takaba
Editing:	Iwao Ishii
Distributor:	Shochiku
Runtime:	114 minutes
Country:	Japan
Language:	Japanese

aka Tora-san's Love Song^[1] is a 1971 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Junko Ikeuchi as his love interest or "Madonna".^[2] Tora-san's Love Call is the eighth entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.

Synopsis

Hoping to find rest from his wandering life, Tora-san returns home. He becomes infatuated with a widow and leaves to travel again, keeping his feelings secret.^[3] ^[4]

Cast

Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō^[5]
Chieko Baisho as Sakura
Takashi Shimura as Hyōichirō Suwa (Hiroshi's father)
Shin Morikawa as Tatsuzō (Torajiro's uncle)
Chishū Ryū as Gozen-sama
Gin Maeda as Hiroshi Suwa
Yasukiyo Umeno as Tsuyoshi Suwa
Takanobu Hozumi as Osamu Suwa
Yoshio Yoshida as Director of travelling company of actors
Chieko Misaki as Torajiro's aunt
Hisao Dazai as Tarō Ume

Critical appraisal

For his work on Tora-san's Love Call, and the previous two entries in the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series, Tora-san, the Good Samaritan, and Tora-san's Shattered Romance (all 1971), Yoji Yamada tied for Best Director at the Mainichi Film Awards with Masahiro Shinoda.^[6] The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Tora-san's Love Call three and a half out of five stars.^[7]

Availability

Tora-san's Love Call was released theatrically on November 20, 1971.^[8] In Japan, the film was released on videotape in 1983 and 1995, and in DVD format in 1995 and 2008.^[9]

Bibliography

English

Web site: OTOKO WA TSURAI YO TORAJIRO KOIUTA (1971). https://web.archive.org/web/20121017211927/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/305838. dead. 2012-10-17. 2010-01-18. British Film Institute.
Web site: OTOKO WA TSURAIYO -TORAJIRO KOIUTA. 2010-01-18. Complete Index to World Film.

German

Web site: Tora-San's Love Call. 2010-01-18. www.molodezhnaja.ch. German.

Japanese

Web site: http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_c.php?num_c=143784. ja:男はつらいよ寅次郎恋歌(1971). 2010-01-18. allcinema.net. Japanese.
Web site: 男はつらいよ寅次郎恋歌. 2010-01-18. Japanese Cinema Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs). dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120226042030/http://www.japanese-cinema-db.jp/details/11679. 2012-02-26.
Web site: http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1971/cu003370.htm. ja:男はつらいよ寅次郎恋歌. 2010-01-18. Japanese. Japanese Movie Database.
Web site: http://www.kinejun.jp/cinema/id/19620. ja:男はつらいよ寅次郎恋歌. 2010-01-18. Japanese. Kinema Junpo. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120309141458/http://www.kinejun.jp/cinema/id/19620. 2012-03-09.

External links

Tora-san's Love Call at www.tora-san.jp (official site)

Notes and References

Web site: OTOKO WA TSURAIYO -TORAJIRO KOIUTA. 2010-01-18. Complete Index to World Film.
Web site: 男はつらいよ寅次郎恋歌 (Madonna). 2010-01-18. www.tora-san.jp. Japanese. (official site)
Web site: http://www.kinejun.jp/cinema/id/19620. ja:男はつらいよ寅次郎恋歌. 2010-01-18. Japanese. Kinema Junpo. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120309141458/http://www.kinejun.jp/cinema/id/19620. 2012-03-09.
Web site: OTOKO WA TSURAI YO TORAJIRO KOIUTA (1971). https://web.archive.org/web/20121017211927/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/305838. dead. 2012-10-17. 2010-01-18. British Film Institute.
Web site: http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1971/cu003370.htm. ja:男はつらいよ寅次郎恋歌. 2010-01-18. Japanese. Japanese Movie Database.
Web site: Awards for Otoko wa tsurai yo: Torajiro koiuta (1971). 2010-01-18. Internet Movie Database.
Web site: Tora-San's Love Call. 2010-01-18. www.molodezhnaja.ch. German.
Web site: 男はつらいよ寅次郎恋歌. 2010-01-18. Japanese Cinema Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs). dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120226042030/http://www.japanese-cinema-db.jp/details/11679. 2012-02-26.
Web site: http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_c.php?num_c=143784. ja:男はつらいよ寅次郎恋歌(1971). 2010-01-18. allcinema.net. Japanese.