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Tora-San XXXIX: Japan's Most Unusual Film Hero
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15769 |
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Section : |
THE ARTS
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| Issue
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1 / 1989 |
2,151 Words |
| Author
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David Tracey
David Tracey is a film critic residing in Japan. |
Japan's unlikely hero of the big screen can't fight like Rambo or flirt like James Bond, but millions of Japanese adore Tora-san anyway, making his Otoko Wa Tsurai Yo (It's hard to be a man) movies the longest-running film series in the world.
In an age when many film producers rely on violence and sex to draw audiences, Tora-san's notion of getting back at a bald, pop-eyed, and nosy neighbor is to call him "Octopus." Beautiful women only make him all clumsy and tongue-tied. Besides, what with his tiny, beady eyes set in a square face, Tora-san is anything but handsome or rugged. Sartorially speaking, he is anything but a fashion plate in his mustard-colored plaid suit.
Yet compare Tora-san to two of America's most durable screen survivors: Superman and Rocky. Each one has four films to his credit, an impressive record of continuity for fickle audiences. But the muscular superheroes are no match for Tora-san, who recently added No. 39 to his series.
The plot line of Tora-san XXXIX may scarcely differ from the previous thirty-eight, but no one in Japan is complaining of repetition. Devoted Tora-san fans, including respected Japanese film critics, wouldn't have it any other way. Over sixty million people have seen at least one of the films, and most seem to find the familiarity somehow comforting.
Lack of Reserve
They know, as they have since the series began in 1969, what will happen even before the cinema lights are dimmed. Tora-san, a roving souvenir peddler with a refreshing lack of reserve when meeting strangers, will come across a damsel in distress somewhere in the Japanese inaka (a word meaning "the countryside," but suggesting to most urban Japanese an idyllic land of clean air, swaying paddies of rice, and honest, unsophisticated people). Out of the kindness of his heart of gold, he'll help her out and, in the process, start another episode of love, Tora-san style.
But everyone knows it won't last; Tora-san's batting average with women is zero. If it were not so funny, the ritual of his long losing streak would be almost painful to watch. Each time, Tora-san falls for the latest Madonna (played by a different Japanese actress each time), but may be blissfully unaware of the fact himself until long after she, his extended family, the neighbors, and the entire cinema audience know it. When he finally does recognize his feelings for what they are, his normally
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