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A Taxing Woman#Video game

{{short description|1987 film by Jūzō Itami}}

{{Infobox film

| name = A Taxing Woman

| image = A Taxing Woman.jpg

| caption = Theatrical poster for A Taxing Woman (1987)

| director = Juzo Itami

| producer = Seigo Hosogoe
Yasushi Tamaoki

| writer = Juzo Itami

| narrator =

| starring = Nobuko Miyamoto
Tsutomu Yamazaki
Masahiko Tsugawa
Keiju Kobayashi
Mariko Okada

| music = Toshiyuki Honda

| cinematography = Yonezo Maeda

| editing = Akira Suzuki

| distributor = Toho

| released = {{Film date|1987|02|07}}

| runtime = 127 min.

| country = Japan

| language = Japanese

| budget =

| gross =

}}

{{nihongo|A Taxing Woman|マルサの女|Marusa no onna}}{{efn|1={{Nihongo||マルサ|Marusa}} is slang for the {{Nihongo|tax inspection division|査察部|sasatsubu}} of the National Tax Agency, which uses a 査 in a circle (visually a seal) as their symbol. Reading this as a Japanese rebus monogram yields 〇査 = maru + sa.}} is a 1987 Japanese film written and directed by Juzo Itami.Infobox data from {{cite web |url= http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1987/dk000250.htm|script-title=ja:マルサの女|access-date=2009-05-12|language=ja|publisher=Japanese Movie Database}} and {{IMDb title|0093502|Marusa no onna (1987)}} It won numerous awards, including six major Japanese Academy awards.{{cite web |url= https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093502/awards|title=Awards for Marusa no onna (1987)|access-date=2009-05-05|language=ja|publisher=Internet Movie Database}} The title character of the film, played by Nobuko Miyamoto, is a tax investigator for the Japanese National Tax Agency who employs various techniques to catch tax evaders.{{cite web |last=Erickson |first=Hal |title=Marusa no onna (A Taxing Woman) (1987) |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/taxing_woman/ |access-date=2012-08-23 |publisher=Rotten Tomatoes Movie Review}}

Itami took inspiration for the movie after entering a higher tax bracket following the success of his first film, The Funeral.

A sequel, A Taxing Woman's Return, featuring some of the same characters but darker in tone, was released in 1988.

Plot

A female tax auditor, Ryōko Itakura, inspects the accounts of various Japanese companies, uncovering hidden incomes and recovering unpaid taxes.

One day Itakura persuades her boss to let her investigate the owner of a string of love hotels who seems to be avoiding tax, but after an investigation no evidence is found. During the investigation the inspector and the inspected owner, Hideki Gondō, develop an unspoken respect for each other.

Itakura is promoted to the post of government tax inspector. When the same case involving Gondō reappears Itakura is again allowed to investigate. During a sophisticated series of raids against the hotel owner's interests, she accidentally comes across a hidden room containing vital incriminating evidence.

Six months later the two meet again. Gondō is tired after daily interrogations. Itakura tries to persuade him to surrender his last secrets for the sake of his son. Gondō asks Itakura to leave her job and come live with him, but she declines. He cuts his finger and writes the name of the secret bank account in blood on a handkerchief of hers that he saved from the first time she investigated him.

Cast

Video game

A visual novel video game of the same title was published by Capcom for the Family Computer in 1989 only in Japan.

Reception

= Critical Response =

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 75% of 12 critics' reviews are positive.{{Cite web |title=A Taxing Woman {{!}} Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_taxing_woman |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=www.rottentomatoes.com |language=en}} Derek Malcolm of The Guardian compared it favorably to Juzo Itami's other films saying "the films construction...is tighter and more logical."{{Cite news |last=Malcom |first=Derek |date=November 17, 1988 |title=One more from the Heart |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-guardian-tuckerstand-and-deliver/83202025/ |access-date=2025-02-07 |work=The Guardian |pages=25}} Roger Ebert, however, gave the movie two out of four stars saying, "I found 'A Taxing Woman' a disappointment after the lean economy of 'Tampopo.'"{{Cite web |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=June 24, 1988 |title=A Taxing Woman movie review & film summary (1988) {{!}} Roger Ebert |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/a-taxing-woman-1988 |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=www.rogerebert.com |language=en-US}}

Notes

{{notelist}}

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • {{IMDb title|0093502|Marusa no onna (1987)}}
  • {{cite web |url=http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1987/dk000250.htm|script-title=ja:マルサの女|access-date=2009-05-12|language=ja|publisher=Japanese Movie Database}}
  • {{cite web |url=http://www.citwf.com/film216343.htm|title=MARUSA NO ONNA|access-date=2009-05-12|publisher=Complete Index to World Film}}
  • {{cite web|url=http://www.walkerplus.com/movie/kinejun/index.cgi?ctl=each&id=17786|script-title=ja:マルサの女|access-date=2009-05-12|publisher=walkerplus.com|language=ja|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050824180257/http://www.walkerplus.com/movie/kinejun/index.cgi?ctl=each&id=17786|archive-date=2005-08-24|url-status=dead}}
  • {{cite web |url=http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_c.php?num_c=150033|script-title=ja:マルサの女(1987)|access-date=2009-05-08|publisher=allcinema.net]|language=ja}}
  • {{cite web |url=http://search.varietyjapan.com/moviedb/cinema_17786.html|script-title=ja:マルサの女|access-date=2009-05-12|work=Variety Japan|language=ja}}
  • {{Rotten-tomatoes|id=a_taxing_woman}}

{{Jūzō Itami}}

{{Navboxes

|title = Awards

|list =

{{Blue Ribbon Award for Best Film}}

{{Hochi Film Award for Best Film}}

{{Japan Academy Prize for Best Film}}

{{Mainichi Film Award for Best Film}}

{{Kinema Junpo Award for Best Film}}

}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taxing Woman, A}}

Category:1980s sex comedy films

Category:1987 films

Category:Best Film Kinema Junpo Award winners

Category:Films directed by Jūzō Itami

Category:1980s Japanese-language films

Category:Japanese sex comedy films

Category:Picture of the Year Japan Academy Prize winners

Category:1987 comedy films

Category:1980s Japanese films

Category:Films scored by Toshiyuki Honda