Tora-san (2019)

Tora-san: Directed by Masaya Kakehi. With Bakarhythm, Kokoro Hirasawa, Marie Iitoyo, Jun Kaname. Su-chan, a struggling manga writer with a gambling addiction, is knocked down and comes back as a cat. As Tora-San, he has one month to turn his family’s fortunes around and show his daughter the love he couldn’t in life.

“Manga artist Suzuo is killed by a truck, chasing after the money he just won at the races (with money stolen from his wife). His daughter, Miyu, cursed him to die just before he left and, now that heu0026#39;s gone, is feeling guilty, angry and miserable. In the Afterlife, a gate keeping judge lists his life on Earth and sentences him to return to make amends in the form of a cat. He now has one month to help his family recover from his death and find the happiness he denied them in life.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis movie is cute, like a sweet tea at a cafe visited by happy-go-lucky girls. From the brightly lit scenes, to the costume Suzuo wears to signify his new cat appearance. Some of it actually works – the cartoonish blood on Suzuou0026#39;s head after his accident, and scenes of people manhandling Suzuo out of various shops, for example. Still, the effect is kind of cheap even if it is adorable.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe plot is rough. Itu0026#39;s hard to imagine the family are poor Japanese when Suzuo looks like he has a Shiseido skin care routine he rigidly sticks to. The addition of other cats into Suzuou0026#39;s life are fun diversions, but most are left unexplored (and even the meatiest role given to pretty cat, Whitest, feels throwaway). Itu0026#39;s also difficult not to laugh at the thought of the family having long, thoughtful conversations with a cat (he is just a cat, after all).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eStill, the final moments are oddly sweet and feel earned (except for that Japanese habit of u0026quot;get the cast to laugh, audiences love thatu0026quot; which pops up at a moment that could have involved a little more levity).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOverall, it looks cute, itu0026#39;s got a cute cast, and has some emotional heft at the end. But maybe not an interesting view for Western audiences.”