Tora-san Makes Excuses

Tora-san Makes Excuses (男はつらいよ 寅次郎の青春) is a 1992 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Kumiko Goto as his nephew Mitsuo's Hidetaka Yoshioka love interest or "Madonna", Izumi. It also co-stars Masatoshi Nagase, who plays Mitsuo's rival for Izumi's affection and Mari Natsuki as Izumi's mother. Tora-San Makes Excuses is the forty-fifth entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.

Cast

 * Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō
 * Chieko Baisho as Sakura
 * Jun Fubuki as Choko
 * Masatoshi Nagase as Ryusuke
 * Masami Shimojō as Kuruma Tatsuzō (Torajirō's uncle )
 * Chieko Misaki as Tsune Kuruma (Torajirō's aunt)
 * Hisao Dazai as Boss (Umetarō Katsura)
 * Hidetaka Yoshioka as Mitsuo Suwa
 * Kumiko Goto as Izumi Oikawa
 * Gin Maeda as Hiroshi Suwa
 * Mari Natsuki as Ayako Oikawa
 * Gajirō Satō as Genkō
 * Keiroku Seki as Ponshu
 * Chishū Ryū as Gozen-sama

Critical appraisal
The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Tora-san Makes Excuses three and a half out of five stars.

Availability
Tora-san Makes Excuses was released theatrically on December 26, 1992. In Japan, the film was released on videotape in 1993 and 1996, and in DVD format in 2002 and 2008.