Tora's Pure Love
Plot. When Tora-san's infatuation with his nephew's school teacher causes family turmoil, he leaves on his travels again. When he returns, he falls in love with the teacher's mother, who has a terminal illness. Critical appraisal. "Tora's Pure Love" was the sixth top-grossing Japanese film of 1976. However, Stuart Galbraith IV writes that the film is disappointing in comparison with the previous "Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset" (also 1976), more sentimental and less well-plotted than the earlier film. Galbraith judges "Tora's Pure Love" nevertheless to be funny , and enjoyable for the scenes between series star Kiyoshi Atsumi and actress Machiko Kyō in one of her last appearances. The German-language site molodezhnaja gives "Tora's Pure Love" three and a half out of five stars. Availability. "Tora's Pure Love" was released theatrically on December 25, 1976. In Japan, the film has been released on videotape in 1996, and in DVD format in 1999 and 2008.