| Marriage Counselor Tora-san | |
| Director: | Yoji Yamada |
| Starring: | Kiyoshi Atsumi Rie Nakahara |
| Music: | Naozumi Yamamoto |
| Cinematography: | Tetsuo Takaba |
| Editing: | Iwao Ishii |
| Distributor: | Shochiku |
| Runtime: | 102 minutes |
| Country: | Japan |
| Language: | Japanese |
is a 1984 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Rie Nakahara as his love interest or "Madonna".[1] Marriage Counselor Tora-san is the thirty-third entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.
In Shibamata, Tokyo, Tora-san's family prepares for a wedding. Meanwhile, the traveling Tora-san meets an old acquaintance in Iwate Province. Tora-san refuses to drink with him, afraid that the acquaintance, now settled and married, will again become attracted to Tora-san's wandering existence. Tora-san becomes attracted to a female barber, but must break off their relationship so that she too can live a secure life. She instead gets into an abusive relationship with a motorcyclist.[2] [3]
Stuart Galbraith IV writes that Marriage Counselor Tora-san is a better entry in the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series, though it differs considerably from other films in the series, both formally and thematically. Tora-san's wandering life is portrayed harshly, rather than light-heartedly, and his family's stable life is shown in the more positive light. Galbraith concludes, "With its darker tone and atypical structure, Tora-san's Marriage Counselor is like a breath of fresh air following a series of recent, somewhat repetitive entries."[3] The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Marriage Counselor Tora-san three and a half out of five stars.[5]
Marriage Counselor Tora-san was released theatrically on August 4, 1984.[6] In Japan, the film was released on videotape in 1987 and 1996, and in DVD format in 2005 and 2008.[7]