Yoji Yamada — Playwright (49)
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Movie

Free and Easy Special (1994)
釣りバカ日誌スペシャル WikiData IMDb TMDB
Azuma Morisaki actor: Toshiyuki Nishida / Rentaro Mikuni …
other title: 釣りバカ日誌スペシャル / Tsuribaka nisshi supesharu
Approached by a friend about a matchmaking arrangement, Su-san goes to Hama-chan's home seeking help. Hama-chan is away on a business trip, but Michiko entertains Su-san late into the night. When he gets drunk and ends up spending the night, Hama-chan, begins to question his boss's relationship with Michiko.
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Movie

The Village (1975)
同胞 WikiData IMDb TMDB
Yoji Yamada actor: Chieko Baisho / Akira Terao …
other title: 同胞
This appears to be a labor of love. Its about a village which is given the opportunity to put on a musical. They would have to pay the overhead and, being that they are farmers and always busy and not rich, question the wisdom and feasibility of such an idea. A spokesperson for the acting troupe Ms. Kono lays out the whole thing and they must decide. You get little slices of rural life in Japan far, at least in sentiment, from Tokyo. The best thing about this film is that it has heart. The acting is good, but it is really about the simple storyline of outing on a show. Films rarely get made with such simplistic plots these days. Enjoy this little slice of what city people call “the simple life”.
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Movie

Tora-san's Runaway (1970)
男はつらいよ 望郷篇 IMDb TMDB
Yoji Yamada actor: Kiyoshi Atsumi / Chieko Baisho …
other title: La nostalgie / 男はつらいよ 望郷篇
After an encounter with a dying yakuza's son and at his sister Sakura's urging, Torajiro attempts to change his vagrant lifestyle and become an honest worker with a steady job.
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Movie

Free and Easy (1988)
釣りバカ日誌 IMDb TMDB
Tomio Kuriyama actor: Toshiyuki Nishida / Eri Ishida …
other title: 釣りバカ日誌
Densuke Hamazaki is an office worker at Suzuki Construction and gets transferred to the main Tokyo office. After settling in to his surrounding along with his wife Eri, Densuke befriends an elderly man named Ichinosuke Suzuki. Ichinosuke is a lonely and old man who learns to enjoy life again through his friendship with Densuke. Meanwhile, Densuke is completely unaware that Ichinosuke is the boss of his construction company. The two men become friends through their shared passion for fishing.
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Movie

Home from the Sea (1972)
故郷
Yoji Yamada actor: Chieko Baisho / Hisashi Igawa …
other title: Home from the sea / 故郷 …
On a beautiful island in Seto Inner Sea, Seichi and Minko make their living by transporting rocks to construction sites by boat. They cherish the deepest affection for this piece of land they call home, and the simple life they lead. But rapid industrial growth makes it all but impossible to continue their chosen living style, and they are forced to leave their beloved hometown in search of a brighter future. But their hometown lingers on their hearts, and they dream of a time when they may once again return.
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Movie

Nagasaki: Memories of My Son (2015)
母と暮せば WikiData IMDb TMDB
Yoji Yamada actor: Sayuri Yoshinaga / Kazunari Ninomiya …
other title: Nagasaki : Memories of my Son / Nagasaki: Recuerdos de mi hijo …
Nobuko works in Nagasaki, Japan as a midwife. Her son died 3 years earlier from the atomic bomb. On August 9, 1948, her son appears in front of her again. Since that time, Koji appears in front of her and they reminiscence about pleasant times. These happy, but bizarre moments seem eternal.