Tora-san Takes a Vacation

Tora-san Takes a Vacation is one of my favorite movies of the entire sequel. Kiyoshi Atsumi in this episode is great as usually. The story is more detailed and whitout boring scenes. It contains a great message in which we can all find ourselves. I recommend it to all lovers of the series.

Tora should have taken this vacation a long time ago. Let's hope it's permanent this time. Let's hope he took the lighting crew along with him. As well as the director, the writer and the rest of the cast. Anything to give our brains a rest from this series, which is so fantastic, exciting and erotic that my brain can't stand it for very long. My heart was beating so fast that I could see my ribs oscillating through much of the series. I bought a blood pressure meter just to be sure I didn't conk out during the high-pressure chase scene in episode 22, the sex scenes in all episodes and, of course, the music was to die for.

I've seen Tora say goodbye to family members so many times, but these last couple of entries, it's been extra emotional... I think because the end is coming for this 50-film series. I am probably going to be a crying wreck by the time I watch film #50, at the rate I'm going.

Also wonderful was that train scene with Mitsuo and Izumi. There's some extra beautiful about Japan passing by in a blur outside of a train window- I know Yi Yi had a similar sequence, for the part of that film set in Japan, and I think Lost in Translation, too?

Just hit most of the right notes for me, and I think this is one of my favourite entries so far. It built well upon the last film, serving as what felt like a direct sequel in some ways, and it didn't have any uncomfortable humour that that otherwise great entry contained in one brief but unfortunate scene.