Tora-san's Shattered Romance

Tora-san's Shattered Romance (男はつらいよ 純情篇) aka Tora-san in Love is a 1971 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Ayako Wakao as his love interest or "Madonna". Tora-san's Shattered Romance is the sixth entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.

Synopsis
A girl who has escaped from an institution falls in love with Tora-san. He decides to marry her, but his family and the girl's teacher break up the romance.

Cast

 * Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajiro
 * Chieko Baisho as Sakura
 * Ayako Wakao as Yūko Akashi
 * Shin Morikawa as Kuruma Tatsuzō
 * Chieko Misaki as Tsune Kuruma (Torajiro's aunt)
 * Gin Maeda as Hiroshi Suwa
 * Chishū Ryū as Gozen-sama
 * Hisao Dazai as Tarō Ume
 * Gajirō Satō as Genkō
 * Hisaya Morishige as Senzō
 * Nobuko Miyamoto as Kinuyo
 * Tatsuo Matsumura as Doctor Yamashita
 * Gorō Tarumi as Yūko's husband

Critical appraisal
For his work on Tora-san's Shattered Romance as well as the next two entries in the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series, Tora-san, the Good Samaritan and Tora-san's Love Call (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 Shattered Romance three and a half out of five stars.

Availability
Tora-san's Shattered Romance was released theatrically on January 15, 1971. In Japan, the film was released on videotape in 1983 and 1995, and in DVD format in 2005 and 2008.