Before our Gran Canarian break I have to say the work of Tsurube Shofukutei had escaped my notice.
Looking at internet movie database it seems that the 60-year-old has had a rather patchy movie career until the last few years.
I can only say that surprises me in the light of the two movies I have seen of his in the last couple of days.
Shofukutei plays village doctor Osamu Ino in Miwa Nishikawa's movie which is part of the Japan Foundation's touring festival, entitled Whose Film Is It Anyway?
And, at its heart, it poses an interesting social dilemma.
Would you prefer a doctor to be highly qualified but lacking the common touch or one whose greatest gift is time.
Ino, as quickly becomes clear, is not qualified at all yet the locals adore him for the time he takes listening to their ills.
Thus, despite their own suspicions, neither his practice assistant (Haruka Igawa), trainee doctor (Eita) nor drug supplier (Teruyuki Kagawa) are prepared to question him out loud.
Ino's own motivations are difficult to understand. he might have initially taken the job for money but he is clearly incredibly warm to the villagers, who are mainly of pensionable age and constantly fears making a wrong prognosis.
Shofukutei, so good in About Her Brother, is playing a very different role here but will elicit sympathy from the audience despite being a conman.
His is a performance of great empathy and it is because of that we are left asking. What would we want in a similar circumstance? An unqualified doctor who could be seen virtually every day or a highly qualified one who is only seen when bad health requires it.
Most people would say the latter but the older generation, many of whom require regular reassurance, my just go for the former.
It's a fascinating question and Dear Doctor explores it with a combination of drama and a considerable amount of humour.
Laughs: one really good one
Jumps: none
Vomit: one scene
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 7/10
Thanks to Douglas at the Japan Foundation for the screener of Dear Doctor. Whose Film Is It Anyway can be seen in Belfast, Bristol, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Nottingham over the next month.