Tora-san's Tropical Fever (男はつらいよ 寅次郎ハイビスカスの花, Otoko wa Tsurai yo: Torajirō Haibisukasu no Hana)[1]akaTorasan Goes to Hisbiscus Land[2] is a 1980 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Ruriko Asaoka as his love interest or "Madonna".[3]Tora's Tropical Fever is the twenty-fifth entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.
Shochiku theatrically released a Special Edition version to theaters in 1997. It used computer graphics to add Hidetaka Yoshioka (who played Tora-san's nephew in the later films) to the story in added scenes.
Plot
Lily, the lounge singer with whom Tora-san fell in love in film 11 (Tora-san's Forget Me Not, 1973) and film 15 (Tora-san's Rise and Fall, 1975) sends Tora-san a letter informing him that she is terminally ill. Tora-san rushes to Okinawa—taking his first plane trip in the process—to be at her side and nurse her to health.[4][5][6]
Writer-director Yoji Yamada reportedly considers Tora's Tropical Fever his own favorite of the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series films.[6] The Japan Academy awarded Yamada and co-writer Yoshitaka Asama Best Screenplay for the film. Chieko Baisho was also given the Best Actress award, and Kiyoshi Atsumi was nominated for Best Actor at the ceremony.[8] The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Tora's Tropical Fever four out of five stars, naming it one of the highlights of the series.[9]Stuart Galbraith IV judges the film "one of the best of the series", and a "delight in every respect: it's funny, sad, and perceptive about human nature".[6]
Availability
Tora-san's Tropical Fever was released theatrically on August 2, 1980.[10] In Japan, the film was released on videotape in 1996 and 1998, and in DVD format in 2008.[11]
