Tora-san's Promise


Tora-san's Promise, also called Torasan and a Paper Balloon in some regions, is a 1981 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma, and Mikiko Otonashi as his love interest or "Madonna". Tora-san's Promise is the twenty-eighth entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.
WWW tora-san.jp/movie/28

Synopsis

Tora-san returns to his family's home to attend an elementary school class reunion. After he embarrasses himself by getting drunk and insulting all his ex-classmates, he resumes his travels. In Kyushu he meets an outspoken 18-year-old girl who becomes enamored of Tora-san and follows him around. One of Tora-san's old friends is terminally ill and makes Tora-san promise him to marry his wife once he is gone.

Cast

Critical appraisal

Stuart Galbraith IV writes that Tora-san's Promise is a middle-quality entry in the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series, though the series has a high standard. The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Tora-san's Promise three and a half out of five stars.

Availability

Tora-san's Promise was released theatrically on December 28, 1981. In Japan, the film was released on videotape in 1986 and 1996, and in DVD format in 2002 and 2008.

English

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German

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Japanese

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