Tora-san's Love Call

Tora-san's Love Call (男はつらいよ 寅次郎恋歌) aka Tora-san's Love Song is a 1971 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Junko Ikeuchi as his love interest or "Madonna". Tora-san's Love Call is the eighth entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.

Synopsis
Hoping to find rest from his wandering life, Tora-san returns home. He becomes infatuated with a widow and leaves to travel again, keeping his feelings secret.

Cast

 * Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō
 * Chieko Baisho as Sakura
 * Takashi Shimura as Hyōichirō Suwa (Hiroshi's father)
 * Shin Morikawa as Tatsuzō (Torajiro's uncle)
 * Chishū Ryū as Gozen-sama
 * Gin Maeda as Hiroshi Suwa
 * Yasukiyo Umeno as Tsuyoshi Suwa
 * Takanobu Hozumi as Osamu Suwa
 * Yoshio Yoshida as Director of travelling company of actors
 * Chieko Misaki as Torajiro's aunt
 * Hisao Dazai as Tarō Ume

Critical appraisal
For his work on Tora-san's Love Call, and the previous two entries in the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series, Tora-san, the Good Samaritan, and Tora-san's Shattered Romance (all 1971), Yoji Yamada tied for Best Director at the Mainichi Film Awards with Masahiro Shinoda. The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Tora-san's Love Call three and a half out of five stars.

Availability
Tora-san's Love Call was released theatrically on November 20, 1971. In Japan, the film was released on videotape in 1983 and 1995, and in DVD format in 1995 and 2008.