Tora-san's Cherished Mother

93 minutesCountryJapanLanguageJapanese

Tora-san's Cherished Mother (続・男はつらいよ, Zoku Otoko wa Tsurai yo), aka Tora-san's Homeward Journey, Am I Trying? Part II, and Torasan Pt. 2,^[1] is a 1969 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Kuruma Torajirō (Tora-san), and Orie Satō as his love interest or "Madonna".^[2] Tora-san's Cherished Mother is the second entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.

Synopsis

Tora-san hears that his mother is still alive and returns to Tokyo to track her down. He discovers that she is a geisha who had had only a brief affair with his father. While visiting the family, he falls in love with Natsuko, the daughter of an old teacher.^[3][4][5]

Cast

• Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajiro^[6]
• Chieko Baisho as Sakura
• Chōchō Miyako as Okiku
• Orie Satō as Natsuko Tsubouchi
• Tsutomu Yamazaki as Kaoru Fujimura
• Chieko Misaki as Torajiro's aunt
• Gin Maeda as Hiroshi Suwa
• Masaaki Tsusaka as Noboru Kawamata
• Akiko Kazami as Osumi
• Hisao Dazai as Umetarō Katsura (Print Shop)

Critical appraisal

Kiyoshi Atsumi was given the Best Actor award at the Mainichi Film Awards for his performance in this film and the previous entry in the series, It's Tough Being a Man (also 1969). Yoji Yamada was also awarded Best Director at the ceremony for the same two films.^{[citation needed]}

The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Tora-san's Cherished Mother three and a half out of five stars.^[7]

Releases

Tora-san's Cherished Mother was released theatrically on November 15, 1969.^[8]

Home media

In Japan, the film was released on videotape in 1983 and 1995, and in DVD format in 2005 and 2008.^[9] AnimEigo released the film on DVD in the US along with the other first four films in the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series on November 24, 2009.^[4]

References

Bibliography

English

• Rich, Jamie S. (2009-12-21). "Tora-San: Collector's Set 1". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
• "ZOKU OTOKO WA TSURAI YO (1969)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 2012-10-17. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
• "ZOKU OTOKOWA TSURAIYO". Complete Index to World Film. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
• Zoku otoko wa tsurai yo (1969) at IMDb

German

• "Tora-San's Cherished Mother" (in German). www.molodezhnaja.ch. Retrieved 2010-01-18.

Japanese

• 続・男はつらいよ(1969) (in Japanese). allcinema.net. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
• "続・男はつらいよ". Japanese Cinema Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Archived from the original on 2011-10-08. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
• 続・男はつらいよ (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
• 続・男はつらいよ (in Japanese). Kinema Junpo. Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2010-01-18.

External links

• Tora-san's Cherished Mother Archived 2011-03-01 at the Wayback Machine at www.tora-san.jp (official site)