Tora-San 44 – Tora-San Confesses (1991)

All of the Tora-san movies had the same basic plot. Kuruma Torajiro (or Tora-san), a traveling salesman whose sole possessions include only the contents of a small suitcase, the clothes on his back and some pocket money, wanders from town to town peddling his wares. He yearns to return to his home in Shibamata, Katsushika, Tokyo. His sole surviving family members include Sakura (his kind-hearted half-sister), Hiroshi (Sakura’s husband), Mitsuo (his nephew), Tatsuzo (his elderly uncle) and Tsune (his elderly aunt). Tatsuzo and Tsune run a traditonal sweet (Dango) shop in Shimabata.
Tora-san unexpectedly drops in on his family. While the family is glad to see him, Tora-san’s stay eventually causes some kind of ruckus and usually a violent family argument ensues. He then storms off with his belongings just as suddenly as he arrived.
Some time later, he arrives in some remote town planning to peddle his wares to the locals. There, he meets the “Madonna” – a local “damsel in distress”. He tells her that if she is ever in Tokyo and needs help, she can look him up at his family’s dango shop. The Madonna takes Tora up on his offer, visiting Tokyo. Tora usually ends up arriving back home to Shimabata soon after. Tora’s family are usually weary at this because they can foresee the same outcome from past visits…
Sure enough, Tora falls “head over heels” in love with her. However, in his shy efforts to win the Madonna’s heart, he usually ends up inadvertently helping bring her together with an old flame or another man. Tora-san invariably ends up heartbroken by the end of the movie. Tora-san puts on a brave face and he wanders off again on his journey to heal his lonely, broken heart.