Tsuribaka nisshi (1988)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Tomio Kuriyama

Writers:

Akira Momoi (writer)
Yôji Yamada (writer)

Release Date:

24 December 1988 (Japan)

Genre:

Comedy

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Toshiyuki Nishida	...	Densuke Hamazaki
Rentaro Mikuni	...	Ichinosuke Suzuki
Eri Ishida	...	Michiko Hamazaki
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nekohachi Edoya
Kei Tani
Jun Togawa
Mami Yamase

Also Known As:

Free and Easy (International: English title)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Shochiku Kinema Kenkyû-jo

A wonderful comedy about life as an office worker

This movie is the beginning of a successful series of comedies about a Japanese office worker, or "salaryman" named Hamasaki and his obsession with fishing. Breaking many social taboos, Hamasaki (or Hama-chan) unknowingly befriends the president of his company, a lonely and bored old man named Ichinosuke Suzuki. He and his wife, Michiko, grow fond of the old man, and in the process Suzuki learns to enjoy himself again. The movie is quite funny, and the acting is top notch. (Eri Ishida, who plays Michiko, is exceptional as the gushing wife) Toshiyuki Nishida, who plays the lead character, is incredibly funny in this role, and the interaction between Hama-chan and his wife is a high point of a funny film.

Having only seen the original Japanese, I am unsure a translation even exists; but I doubt it would do justice to this film. The fun of it is the satire of the social hierarchies, and the cultural in-jokes that anyone who lives or has lived in Japan would instantly understand. Definitely a must-see for anyone interested in modern Japanese comedy.