Stage-Struck Tora-san
Stage-Struck Tora-san aka Tora-san's Stage-Struck is a 1978 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma, and Nana Kinomi as his love interest or "Madonna". Stage-Struck Tora-san is the twenty-first entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.
Synopsis
Tora-san returns from his travels throughout Japan to his family's home in Tokyo to find his uncle recovering from an illness. After a family fight erupts, he returns to the road and becomes friends with Tomekichi. When the pair come to Tokyo, they both fall in love with stage dancers.Cast
- Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō
- Chieko Baisho as Sakura
- Nana Kinomi as Nanako Beni
- Tetsuya Takeda as Tomekichi Gotō
- Masami Shimojō as Kuruma Tatsuzō
- Chieko Misaki as Tsune Kuruma
- Gin Maeda as Hiroshi Suwa
- Hayato Nakamura as Mitsuo Suwa
- Hisao Dazai as Boss
- Gajirō Satō as Genkō
- Hiroshi Inuzuka
- Raita Ryū as Detective
- Chishū Ryū as Gozen-sama
- Shinobu Azusa as Shinobu Fuji
Critical appraisal
Kiyoshi Atsumi was nominated for Best Actor at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony for his work in Stage-Struck Tora-san and the following film in the series, Talk of the Town Tora-san. Yoji Yamada was also nominated for Best Director for these two films.Stuart Galbraith IV writes that Stage-Struck Tora-san is one of the weaker entries in the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series. He notes that co-star Tetsuya Takeda, a popular comic actor in Japan at the time, comes across as hammy in western eyes. According to Galbraith, the film works best as a nostalgic look at late-1970s popular culture. The opening dream segment is a spoof of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and there are references to Pink Lady as well as glimpses into Japan's economic situation of the era. The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Stage-Struck Tora-san three out of five stars.