Tora-san's Promise (男はつらいよ 寅次郎紙風船, Otoko wa Tsurai yo: Torajirō Kamifūsen), also called Torasan and a Paper Balloon in some regions,[1] is a 1981 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Mikiko Otonashi as his love interest or "Madonna".[2]Tora-san's Promise is the twenty-eighth entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.
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.[3][4][5]
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.[4] The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Tora-san's Promise three and a half out of five stars.[7]
Availability
Tora-san's Promise was released theatrically on December 28, 1981.[8] In Japan, the film was released on videotape in 1986 and 1996, and in DVD format in 2002 and 2008.[9]
