Tampopo (1985) User Reviews (121)

Delicious & Delightful

[reelreviewsandrecommendations · 9/10 · 26 April 2023]

Tampopo is a widow struggling to run a noodle shop called Lai Lai. Though she cooks with sincerity, her food lacks depth and flavour. After a chance encounter with a truck driver named Goro, Tampopo realizes that she must learn more about the culinary arts if her business is to succeed. Taking her under his wing, Goro goes about teaching Tampopo the intricacies of noodle soup making, determined to transform her restaurant into a paragon of culinary excellence. Meanwhile, a white-suited gangster and his moll discover new, erotic ways to express their love for one another through food; despite his enemies lurking ever-close.

Written and directed by Juzo Itami, 'Tampopo' is a beautifully constructed testament to the power of food that leaves the viewer hungry for more. Showing in great detail how food can be a source of pleasure, joy and love, the film is both heart-warming and life-affirming. A sharply written, richly humorous story about a quest for culinary perfection, 'Tampopo' is structured like a western, and can be seen as a homage to same. With its cowboyesque hero and narrative beats parodying conventions of the genre- such as the showdown and the saloon brawl- 'Tampopo' is a marvellous 'ramen western' packed full of flavour.

All of Itami's characters- from the titular chef to an ailing housewife- are ones of depth, crafted with intelligence, wit and warmth. His sub-plots, varying in length, explore how food brings people together, both emotionally and physically. Be it the vignette involving a spaghetti eating etiquette class or the aforementioned ailing housewife, these individual stories reinforce the film's overall message. Sensual and erotic in places, 'Tampopo' offers viewers a delicious blend of comedy and drama that goes down smoothly. Itami's second film, it is arguably his masterpiece; and one whose universal story resonates still.

'Tampopo' features striking cinematography from Masaki Tamura, whose expressionistic work in films like 'Lady Snowblood' and 'The Assassination of Ryoma' helped cement his reputation as one of Japan's finest cinematographers. His work for 'Tampopo' is undeniably powerful and dynamic, heightening the film's themes, tone and narrative impact. Utilising a variety of camera angles, movements and transitions- such as zooms, tracking shots, fades and pans- he helps foster the film's lively and humorous tone, as well as its connection to the western genre.

Furthermore, Tamura's work helps maintain a sense of realism throughout 'Tampopo', with his use of natural lighting, locations and colours creating an authentic depiction of 1980's Japan. His usage of visual metaphors and contrasts- be it of a Japanese flag on a rice omelette symbolising pride and identity, or an egg yolk referencing fertility-serves to bolster the films themes, while also remaining visually beguiling. Throughout the film, his work impresses and enthrals; leaving an indelible impression on the viewer.

As do the performances from the cast. There could be no one better for the titular role than Itami's muse and spouse Nobuko Miyamoto, who imbues the character with an infectious energy and lust for life. Itami and Miyamoto created many rich characters in the ten films they made together, from 'A Taxing Woman' to the 'Supermarket Woman'; and Tampopo may be the most compelling of them all. Alongside her, Tsutomu Yamazaki delivers a masterclass in understatement as Goro, playing him with a wry charm and subtle strength- almost like an Eastern Clint Eastwood. Koji Yakusho also shines in the role of the white-suited gangster, stealing every scene he's in with his charisma and magnetic screen presence.

An energetic, enthralling motion picture, Juzo Itami's 'Tampopo' is almost certainly the director's magnum opus. An affecting meditation on the importance and power of food, the film can make one cry and laugh in equal measure. Featuring an engrossing narrative, beautiful cinematography from Masaki Tamura and power-house performances from all in the cast, 'Tampopo' is delicious, delightful and a real cinematic treat.

Avoid if Hungry: Acquire Ingredients Beforehand...

[Xstal · 8/10 · 21 April 2020]

Not a film to watch if you're hungry but one to satisfy any cinephiles appetite. Intricately woven and nested tales of food and love and Japan make it a joy to consume during these 'Boil in the Bag' days. No need for appetisers, aperitifs or digestives - everything perfectly prepared, blended and presented to complement, savour, absorb and relish. The healthiest meal your eyes will devour with the utmost passion and joy.

The Wild Bunch at the noodle shop. Slurp!

[DennisLittrell · 9/10 · 6 October 2002]

There are any number of very funny scenes in this lightly plotted and highly episodic romantic comedy from acclaimed Japanese director Juzo Itami. You may recall him as the guy who got in trouble with the Yakuza, the Japanese "mafia," because they didn't like the way he made fun of them in Minbo no onna (1992). You may also know that he committed suicide at the age of 64 in 1997 after being accused of adultery. He is the son of samurai film maker Mansaku Itami. I mention this since one of the things satirized here are samurai films.

But--and perhaps this is the secret of Itami's success both in Japan and elsewhere--the satire is done with a light, almost loving touch. Even though he also takes dead aim at spaghetti westerns and the Japanese love affair with food, especially their predilection for fast food noodle soup, at no time is there any rancor or ugliness in his treatment.

If you've seen any Itami film you will be familiar with his star, his widow, Nobuko Miyamoto, she of the very expressive face, who is perhaps best known for her role as the spirited tax collector in Itami's The Taxing Woman (1987) and The Taxing Woman Returns (1988). She has appeared in all of his films. Here she is Tampopo ("Dandelion"), a not entirely successful proprietor of a noodle restaurant. Along comes not Jones but Tsutmu Yamazaki as Goro, a kind of true grit, but big-hearted Japanese urban cowboy. He ambles up to the noodle bar and before long establishes himself as a kind of John Wayne hero intent on teaching Tampopo how the good stuff is made. Along the way Itami makes fun of stuffy bureaucrats, macho Japanese males, heroic death scenes, Japanese princesses attempting to acquire a European eating style, movie fight scenes, and God knows what else.

The comedy is bizarre at times. The sexual exchange of an egg yoke between the man in the white suit (Koji Yakusho) and his mistress (Fukumi Kuroda) might make you laugh or it might just gross you out. The enthusiastic description of the "yam sausages" from inside a wild boar is strange. Surely one is not salivating at such an entre, but one can imagine that such a "delicacy" might surely exist and have its devotees.

Indeed an Itami film has a kind of logic all its own. An exemplary scene is that of the stressed and dying mother of two young children, who is ordered by her husband to "Get up and cook!" This (reasonably relevant) scene is juxtaposed with the one with the college professor which is about being and getting ripped off--which seems to have little to do with the rest of the movie, yet somehow seems appropriate, perhaps only because they are at a restaurant. Another typical Itami scene is the businessmen at supper. They hem and haw until their chief orders and then they all pretend to debate and consider, and then order exactly the same thing except for one brash young guy who dazzles (and embarrasses) the old sycophantic guys by order a massive meal in French with all the trimmings.

The climax of the film comes with plenty of musical fanfare. As Goro and others sit down at the counter, they are served Tampopo's final culinary creation, the noodle soup now hopefully honed to perfection. As the tension mounts, a musical accompaniment, reminiscent of something like the clock ticking in High Noon (1952), rises to a crescendo. All the while Tampopo sweats and frets and prays that she will triumph, which will be in evidence if, and only if, they drain their soup bowls! (Do they?)

The final credits roll (after some further misdirections and some further burlesque) over a most endearing and ultimately touching shot of a young mother with a beautiful and contented infant feeding at her breast.

Perhaps this was Itami's best film.

(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!)

My All-Time Favorite Movie!

[underpussy · 10/10 · 25 July 2002]

I just keep watching this movie over and over again. Why? It's hard to say exactly. Sure, the acting is great and the story is terrific, but what makes "Tampopo" so special is harder to define. I like to think of it as optimism; the belief that people in this world still do nice things for other people. Or maybe that romance can strike when you least expect it. Sure, this is a movie about food, you've heard all about that, but more importantly it's a movie about people. People working together, eating together, striving together, and accomplishing together.

The script is flawless. Every scene blends into the next, and takes you someplace new. The narrative sidetracks away from the main story from time to time, leading to the most conceptual and entertining scenes. Tampopo is an adventure on a very small and personal scale. It's a charming movie, unlike any other I've seen, well worth a look.

Made me want to get a bowl of noodles immediately.

[Mr Parker · 10/10 · 10 July 2003]

I watched this movie for the first time last night and I have to say, it was awesome. This is one of those rare movies that are made with so much emotion, you can't help but be affected by what's going on before your eyes. I found the movie to be funny, touching, shocking, sensual, weird, thoughtful, cute, etc. The love of food is apparent throughout the entire movie. It kind of reminded me of Like Water for Chocolate, the way food was revered in the story. The movie is done in an interesting way. Mainly, it's about a woman named Tampopo who is left in charge of her husband's noodle shop after he dies. Having problems with maintaining a general quality to the place, especially with the cooking, she receives assistance from a rugged cowboy-type. Along with several other characters, they help to turn the place into something special. Occasionally, the story veers away from this plot to follow other characters in food-related scenes. For instance, there's a vignette about a group of girls being taught how to eat noodle soup properly by an etiquette teacher at a restaurant. They notice another patron in the restaurant, sucking at his noodles loudly but clearly enjoying them. The girls then do the same thing, prompting the teacher to follow suit, all of them sucking away at their noodles with the most exaggerated sound effects I have ever heard. This results in a scene so hilarious that I had to stop it and rewind it after it was done. Soon after, the story goes back to Tampopo and the other characters in her universe. There's other characters that are returned to periodically, like this white-suited gangster and his moll. Their scenes are erotically charged and quite striking. It was funny but at the same time it just grabbed me attention wise. There's a moment where they pass a raw egg yolk back and forth through each others mouths without rupturing it. It's done slowly and erotically, the two lovers obviously enjoying this really weird thing we're seeing. I have to say I've never really seen anything like that in a movie. All in all, I was pretty much entranced from the moment the movie began. I really didn't think I was going to enjoy it this much! It's really funny and it shows a side to Japanese cuisine and how serious it is taken there that I had never known before viewing this. I recommend this movie from top to bottom and I think it has deservedly earned a spot in my all-time faves list! If you are interested in Japanese culture and you appreciate food in the least, you owe it to yourself to track a copy of this down and watch it, especially if you like a good bowl of ramen!

RATING: ***** out of *****.

Something for Everyone

[niisja · 10/10 · 23 September 2004]

This movie is not, I repeat, is not intended for the typical movie goer. It is not to be forgotten a day after having been seen. It should be watched repeatedly, gone over with a solid spoon for thorough digesting. Not everyone who sees it will love it at first. But anyone who gives it a willing and open mind will find a deep respect within drawing them further into the movie. Should the simple viewer happen upon this movie, it is necessary to understand that it is not an American movie and only slightly emulates one, therefore it must be expected that certain aspects of the film will escape one at first. There will be certain chapters of the film which appeal more than others, but it is crucial to make an effort to be considerate of the fact that Juzo Itami was not necessarily making Tampopo up to be an international success. What is truly mindblowing is that this movie is nearly twenty years old! I am completely in awe each time I see this movie, and it never fails to make me stop and watch as Goro is instructing Tampopo on why the customer must, MUST, be observed upon entering the shop while Gun complains that the pork slices are too thin. Slap, slap, don't you want to see how the customer reacts? Isn't it strange? How do we relate in this tale? Pick it up, become an addict, never see another movie the same way ever again.

Beautiful Film, A Classic

[cali-29 · 10/10 · 25 February 2007]

I first saw this film on TV around 1990 and loved it. Its one of those films that you put on your mental list of films to see again. My girlfriend managed to buy an Japanese import subtitled version for Xmas and we sat down to watch. Tampopo is a film that starts interesting and slowly draws you in until you realise you sat for an hour and a half mesmerised. Its one of those films that when the lights go up you're not sure what you just watched but somehow it all made sense and you know it was very special. This is a film for life. I won't watch it every week but everyone I loaned it to came back with the same comments as myself. There are moments of sheer beauty that make your eyes fill up with joy. Several times I had to hold back a sniff, Damn I wanna cook noodles now. If Tampopo doesn't capture your heart then maybe you miss the point of film making as an art.

Fun when it is focused on the main story

[blott2319-1 · 6/10 · 7 December 2021]

Tampopo is a weird kind of farcical or satirical comedy that certainly has a strange combination of elements that don't necessarily all go together. I'm convinced if the film could have locked in on the main storyline and explored the mission to make the titular character a master of ramen, I would have adored this movie. That entire plot had just the right amount of silliness, but still remained focused on character growth and a clear end goal. I thought it was fun how they took the making of the perfect ramen so seriously, and there was a nearly religious experience each time they actually tasted the food. I must admit it made me more than a little hungry, and I wish there was a good Japanese restaurant of this type in my area. I also loved all the strange characters that Tampopo and Gun would meet on their mission. Each one had a distinct and funny personality that I found humorous.

The problem with Tampopo is that it gets sidetracked frequently with a very odd couple that seem to have a more sexual relationship with food and it was out of place and weird. The way the film would detour to these people (and a few other minor stories that were isolated from the main plot) reminded me a little of a Monty Python movie, except this time I was the one shouting "get on with it!" It was certainly strange and mildly humorous, but it didn't click with me in the same way I was enjoying the ramen restaurant. I also had a very minor problem with the way the character of Tampopo was forced to rely on the men so much. I was tolerating it for a long time but there is one moment close to when they open that I would have preferred she figure something out herself and prove that she had grown past needing the help of the men. Still, Tampopo is a fine film with an engaging plot, it's just a bit too surreal at some points to completely win me over.

strange celebration of food

[SnoopyStyle · 8/10 · 12 March 2016]

Truck driver Gorô and his young sidekick Gun (Ken Watanabe) stop at a rather sad looking noodle shop. They rescue a boy outside from bullies who turns out to be the son of the widowed shop owner Tampopo. Her noodles are not good and she begs Gorô to be her teacher. In desperation, she even tries to buy and steal a soup recipe. They find homeless people who are cooks. With other experts' help, they refine the noodle shop to greater heights. Meanwhile, there is a gangster in a white suit and his girlfriend testing the boundaries of food erotica. Others vignettes also show people with food.

This is a strange and wonderful celebration of food. The characters are lovely. Gorô is a cowboy of sorts and even has the hat. It treats the noodle with reverence. Not all of the minor vignettes work but they add to the quirkiness. The old lady who squeezes is odd as hell although I wouldn't call it funny. It's an unusual movie wrapped around a sweet noodle story.

What a masterpiece this movie is!!

[redwoods · 7 November 2011]

I can't count the number of times I've watched this wonder, discovered one night when I rented it from the local video store in 1993. I believe that like a great recipe, you need to practice it at least a dozen times to start to get a grip on it. Every time I watch it I take more pleasure as I get older (and hopefully wiser). This film is without a doubt one of the most sensual, generous masterly realized movie of all times. It is to be hold close to Fritz Lang and Kubrik masterpieces, but obviously in a completely different register. It would take me all night to decipher the various reasons why this pure marvel is so good. But this is not required. It is simply a tale about life and death, and the ongoing process of sex and food in between the two. Epicurism was never thought to be a Japanese value, until we Westerners with all our believes and convictions, realized that Japanese culture encompasses much more that our restrained field of philosophy. This ode to life touches all aspects of our arrogant human society in so many FUNNY and touching ways that I could hardly compare it to anything else watched anywhere else. In a way it is an encyclopedia of human traits. Maybe "La Grande Bouffe" would be the closest contender on SOME aspects only. But Tampopo goes much further in my opinion. And above all the marvelous acting makes it SO FUNNY!! Every time I watch it I laugh more... To have managed to put all these traits of human behavior in only one such great movie is truly an ASTONISHING work in terms of scripting, directing and editing. But even the way it is filmed is perfection itself. Above all keep in mind this NOT a serious boring movie at all but a funny piece of cake to watch... A bit crazy too!! Be aware you'll never look at your bowl of noodles the same way after watching this movie!! "Bon appetite!!"

loved this movie 25 years ago, liked it this time

[cherold · 7/10 · 29 May 2012]

I recall thinking this movie was awesome when I first saw it. So I'm disappointed to say I only liked it this time. The movie follows a spaghetti-Westernish story of a woman learning to become a master noodle chef in a world where it seems people think about little else but noodles, interwoven with various quirky episodes portraying food obsession. I recall this movie being very funny, but this time I find it more odd than funny. It is a fascinating way to look at the world and some of it is very clever. On the other hand, some episodes seem dumb or pointless to me and the director is a little too willing to commit to a long shot of something not especially interesting, like people eating noodles in real time.

While I didn't like it as much this time around, it is a fascinating portrayal of Japanese cultural via food. It's also a movie that made me very curious to try that sort of noodle dish. I only have once. Oddly enough it was at some food place at an airport in the Midwest, but I quite enjoyed it.

A classic of world cinema

[intelearts · 10/10 · 15 November 2006]

This remains one of the better comedies of all time due to star performances, a superb script, and many, many surprises. Above all, the pacing is some of the best seen in any comedy.

Tampopo has all the qualities of good story telling: a hero, a disciple, a quest.

And when your hero is a trucker, the disciple a woman in need of help, and the quest to cook the best noodles then you know you're in for fun.

In between all this are vignettes on how food and life mingle. It is more than simple laughs there are moments of poignancy, and genuine flights of imagination.

Many directors could do well to watch the ease with which the camera is handled here: the plot flows beautifully and the switches to the small vignettes are handled with suitable aplomb.

All in all a three course meal.

Yes, I too prefer food fetish over foot fetish.

[alansabljakovic-39044 · 7/10 · 23 May 2020]

Wonderful mix of genres makes this unique and incredible film extraordinary. The plot is simple yet flavored with extra spieces which make it awesome. Some parts were weird but the films is mostly really good. It also made me hungry.

Food Porn

[mykungfuistrong · 3/10 · 1 August 2014]

This is quite literally food pornography in many scenes. You can accurately judge the whole film by the credits scene, which is a 2 minute close up of a woman's nipple as she feeds her baby.

The film documents the rather Japanese obsession with food and the "correct" way to eat, prepare, or order it. You can tie it into sexual repression and the replacement of enjoying food instead of enjoying sex. (There is no kissing or sex between any of the characters in the two main love stories, unless food is in their mouths.)

The main story of a woman seeking to become the best noodle chef is supplemented by several short scenes of random strangers that are loosely based on the food theme as well, but otherwise have nothing to do with the main narrative. A lot of people would probably like this film a lot more if those unrelated scenes were cut out, leaving the main narrative at about 1 1/2 hours. As is, they are often very seriously filmed while meant to be darkly, bizarrely comical. I don't think many people will find them funny, and some scenes actually reinforce a lot of negative ideals in Japan. For example, a couples' food fetishism beginning when a gangster buys an oyster from a child diver (she might be 12 or so) and eats it from her hand, whereby they start making out. A husband attempts to keep his wife alive a few minutes longer by demanding she make the family dinner before dying. An old lady with dementia damages all the food in a grocery store while "inspecting" it, and the store owner chases her around the store.

These highlight very real issues in Japan. Ignored mental illness in the elderly. Rigid gender roles and unhappy marriages. The worship and fetishization of young girls by men old enough to be their fathers. Far from being a document of these issues, the film does not seem to censure them in anyway, and actually to support them a bit. Take them out and you're still left with a main story that has hollow comedy, is mired in boring details, and has an irresolute love story. And it's all built around the idea that a woman needs a team of men to teach her how to be a good noodle cook, despite one's comment that "I never believed a woman could be as good of a noodle chef as a man!"

Frankly, it's a movie that is cleverly directed, but whose story and tone were archaic at the time, and are even more disgusting by modern standards. Look elsewhere for depth or entertainment.

Itami's style fits nicely

[cokaznazn · 10/10 · 29 July 2003]

The way each scene in Tampopo seems to lead into the next really jarred me when I first started to watch it. Movies with multiple plot lines will often create glaring differences between the scenes, but Itami did the opposite. Ending the bicycle workout scene (with Goro and Tampopo) with the business party walking into the restaurant where the "How to eat Italian food" lesson took place, which, upon conclusion found the camera following a waiter BACK to the business party all occurred seamlessly and left a grin on my face no one else in the room understood. In fact, the pace of the film is very conducive to the second and third viewings. Well, that's my excuse for why none of my friends found it quite as entertaining.

Many unforgettable scenes

[justusdallmer · 10/10 · 25 January 2002]

When I saw it again after many years, I discovered how many impressive, unique, unparalleled scenes are included in TAMPOPO - I remembered my astonishment when first watching them. I was astonished how surprising these scenes were, how unexpected, how strange and weird and fascinating. Try it yourself! It's unbelievable, this free flow of thoughts and odd ideas. It opens your mind. It teaches to respect your food. It makes you love Japan.

PS: listen carefully to "The Old Master". He appears very soon.

Makes you HUNGRY!

[domino1003 · 10/10 · 12 December 2003]

Loved this film when I first saw it in 1987. The story is wonderful: A trucker helps this young widow, who has a young son, improve her noodle business. He gets some help along the way from several individuals. The funny part of the film is that it doesn't just concentrate on this story, but goes off the beaten path, showing little stories on the way. The common link? Food. It's interesting how food blends into everything that is done in the movie (An old woman that has a fetish for squeezing soft foods, an etiquette class changes young women when they watch a man eat spaghetti). Called a "noodle western" for a good reason: The mysterious stranger helping a widow in distress. This is an excellent film, but you will get VERY hungry watching it.

Zen and the Art of Noodle Eating

[rmax304823 · 9/10 · 31 May 2003]

No, a Japanese comedy isn't an oxymoron. In this one you can forget all the swordplay of the Samurai movies, and all the tragedy of the modern dramas. This one is really funny.

The plot is skeletal. Two guys happen upon a woman named Tampopo ("Dandelion") trying to manage a run-down noodle shop and they decide to help her turn the place into an economic and gastronomic four-diamond establishment. They succeed. That's the plot. The whole plot.

But the film is fleshed out with episodes, usually unrelated to one another, some of them as amusing as anything ever put on the screen. Every single sidesplitting one is played and directed in a straight-faced way.

I'll give just one example. A gangster and his beautiful moll are about to make love. They kiss passionately. The camera moves in for a closeup of their lips and we see that a raw egg is being slipped back and forth between mouths. The couple progress to foreplay in the nude. The foreplay consists of the man slapping a clear plastic pint of live shrimp upside down on his lover's belly. The shrimp skitter around on her flesh and she titters and writhes with desire. Later, alas, the young man is shot multiple times by rival mobsters. He's sprawled on his back in the dirt, his white clothes soaked with blood. She rushes to him and kneels beside him, weeping. He goes into the cliche of the "last dying words," barely able to gasp them out. What does he tell her? That he loves her? That he regrets his disreputable life? No -- he launches into an outrageously long story about hunting boars when he was a child. The boars would eat nothing but yams, when the yams were ripe. They became stuffed with yams and nothing but yams. Then when they were hunted down, the boars yielded long strings of intestines that were packed with yams. "They were like yam sausages, you see." I don't think I caught the tail end of his narrative because I was dissolved in laughter.

The whole thing revolves around food in its various forms. People rise from the dead to cook a final meal for their grieving families. They prepare the most mouthwatering rice omelettes imaginable. Proper young ladies learn how to eat noodles without making vulgar sounds. They do all sorts of things with and about food. Cuisine is to this movie what sex is to Italian comedies.

Do not be put off by the fact that this movie has subtitles. In poor movies subtitles are a distracting nuisance. But in this case, you'll hardly notice them, hardly be able to read them through the laughter.

Decent movie

[marcelopietrovich · 6/10 · 26 October 2022]

The main plot revolves around a ramen-restaurant owner trying to improve her recipe and her business. There are connected subplots like her son being bullied at school, and two of her patrons having a fracas early on. One of them, Gorou(Yamazaki), a trucker, helps her throughout her journey. Obviously, all these stories share something in common, namely a happy ending. There are also some non-related suplots, which are related to the main story only by their physical proximity to an event of the main theme. They are all loosely based on food as the main story is.

The main point of this movie is how Itami(the director) treats his topic. He shows in an ironic but somewhat serious way how food and its consumption is perceived in the Japanese society. He takes aim at the emphasis put on etiquette and the proper way of doing things, like eating noodles, but doesn't spare the "fetishization" of eating, a recurrent theme of many subplots.

The best part of Tanpopo is the acting. Watanabe (whose role is not big, despite being billed on top), Yamazaki and Yakusho, just to name a few, have had very solid careers including some international blockbusters. Here, too, they don't fail to deliver. The main downside is that the story is rather dull, and the cuts to other secondary plots feel like a distraction at times.

an appetite for absurdity

[mjneu59 · 9/10 · 6 January 2011]

It was sold as the world's first 'noodle western', but this deadpan, mock-hysterical Japanese import is more than just another genre parody. Director Juzo Itami blends equal parts Sergio Leone and Luis Buñuel (circa 'The Phantom of Liberty') to cook up a near plot less satire on a common theme: food, in all its various shapes, forms, and obsessions. Episodic gags and aimless digressions overlap each other with little logic and often no clear punchline: a bereaved father orders his children to finish their mother's last meal after she collapses dead in the kitchen; an etiquette class learns modern table manners from an eavesdropper noisily slurping up his dinner; a dapper gangster and his girlfriend practice (with the aid of a raw egg yolk) the art of epicurean sex. Eventually each loose end leads back to the central story, about an eager but inept proprietress of a mediocre noodle shop guided by a benevolent truck driver towards culinary enlightenment in pursuit of the ultimate bowl of ramen: a process involving rigorous exercise, total mental discipline, Zen philosophy, industrial espionage, and smart interior decorating.

What's with the short vignettes? Makes no sense.

[Amyth47 · 6/10 · 1 April 2021]

My Rating : 6/10

It's an okay movie except there's some random scenes in the middle which don't have anything to do with the main story - why?? It's pointless.

Tampopo is watchable if you like ramen noodles - though a lot of the scenes didn't really work for me.

On to the next one.

Yummy

[drfraud-1 · 10/10 · 21 March 2007]

Tampopo is an extremely clever and a very original movie. Like so many other Japanese films before it, Tampopo may not entirely appeal to the western public, but it is by far the most accessible movie I've seen in years.

It is hard to define this film as anything but a story of life through culinary perspective. Major aspects of our every day experience are looked at by introducing food into them, sometimes resulting in a very comical effect. From the first scene, to the last few moments, you will probably be amazed by sheer originality of this movie. Simply coming up with ideas they came up with takes a unique and incredibly approach. Something that has never been done before.

In a sense, I can only compare Tampopo's approach at making us 'taste' what we see with a 2006 film Perfume which managed to describe olfactory experiences with as much success. But unlike Perfume, Tampopo also juggles around few other interesting movie genres just for the fun of it. If you watch carefully, you will begin to see western elements, gangster movie and even a police crime, all in one movie. They might not seem connected at first, but they will make sense in due time.

Overall however the side stories are only there to keep us interested in the main event.

If you thought that tasting things in cinema is impossible, wait till you see Tampopo.

10/10 for great cast, humour, story and acting.

Once upon a time, not long ago. There lived a nooodlemaker named Tampopo. (spoilers!)

[vertigo_14 · 7/10 · 31 July 2004]

If the Japanese word for noodle is Ramen, does Ramen Noodles mean Noodles Noodles?

I once read an article about the genetic engineering of rice, something loaded with beta carotene which produced a yellowish colored rice called 'Golden Rice.' One article said that it would be easy to introduce the rice into Eastern cultures, because of the way the traditional Eastern cultures viewed food as a sacred thing, especially rice. I seem to remember that certain rices, usually based on the color, were reserved for different things. I think dark rice was served during ceremonies or as a signal of an upperclass status. But the point was, that certain cultures view food as such a holy, sacred thing that other cultures may not.

That's what Tampopo is all about, the beauty of food. Kind of reminds me of Cibbo Motto's first album, "Vive La Woman" where ever song is about food. In Tampopo, we may start with Tampopo's painstaking quest to be the best noodlemaker, but eventually, we get little strings of skit-like stories interspersed throughout the picture showing the different ways food is valued. In the beginning, for example, the film opens up in with a couple in a theater, and the man in the white suit talking about how he didn't like to be disturbed by the sounds of crinkling bags of potato chips and other assorted theater food. Meanwhile, he and his date are being served quite a fine feast (considering they're only in a theater) when they arrive at the theater. Something unusual for me as well funny, and as you will see in the rest of the movie, something completely different. You may never look at food the same again.

The main story is that of Tampopo, a noodlemaker at Lai Lai. One night a visitor, Goro, stops in her restaurant and gives her advice about the quality of her soup. In sort of a parody of Rocky, Goro trains her to be the best noodlemaker in a way that the Lai Lai into a temple of noodles. She starts to meet people along the way who are noodle masters themselves who will train her how to take care into each noodle and so forth. So precise and everything else.

As the story continues, we see a master and his trainee learning how to eat a bowl of soup. The rituals, the caressing of the meat with the chopsticks, and all of that. We see the couple who place a sensuous value upon food, using it somewhat as a substitute for actual sex. We see a man who's wife is on her deathbed, but manages the strength to get up and cook rice for the family before dying. We see a series of homeless vagrants who tell Tampopo about all the exciting foods and beverages they've been working on. They describe brilliant French cuisines and one man even notes that he's worked fifteen years on perfecting a type of sake. In another part of the film, we briefly see some Japanese businessmen in a restaurant. All order sole except for one, who I think is something like an intern-type, who goes through great effort describing the meal he wishes to order and what it is made of, even the beverage. I think this movie is pretty funny for us American audiences because the idea seems so stupid: everyone is so serious about food. Asian cultures may look at this differently, and find it funny because of things the characters say (like the dentists who remove a man's absess in his tooth and have to run to the window because it smelled so bad), knowing that they too, hold food in the same value. It's really remarkable the context that the film can be taken simply because of an unusual subject: food. This movie shows how nearly every facet of life revolves around food.

Don't watch it on an empty stomach.

New New Wave

[tedg · 15 April 2005]

Movies about other movies both fascinate and challenge me. The French "new wave" consisted of three types of ideas. They had notions about explicitly acknowledging the camera. That's such an ordinary notion these days that it is impossible to appreciate. And in any case, no French thinker invented the idea.

A second component was the importation of key stereotypes from American movies applied in a "real world" context in a manner of folding fiction into reality (with the irony that the reality itself was fictional). This is what the average critic associates with New Wave.

The third component was the most trenchant, but is nearly impossible to recognize today, much less appreciate. Society was undergoing change — not in the radical way we all thought at the time, but in a more subtle, nuanced way: old means to accommodate damaged society were being replaced by new ones. Those new ones are immune to the old challenges and seem now like God made the world that way from the beginning (about 3500 ago?). New wave film challenged these old strictures in a direct manner as its primary task. Since we can't see the target, we miss the point all together and (in a sad irony) take the stories at face value.

Now into the long still tailwind enters Itami who makes a New New Wave film. It fits the mold in all three ways, but those three are more clearly seen by this American viewer.

We have the acknowledgment that it is a film, what with the camera whose presence creates the linkage among stories. And the copious references to past movies. In this case the references — I'm talking tone and style here, not story and character — include as many Asian (mostly Japanese) references as western.

We have the standard American film stereotypes. In French new wave that was the gangster, in Italian new wave, the cowboy. Here we have both. Film as food. Film as food. Perfect, nuanced, deep film as similarly sacred food. This even starts with a film-within prologue with the gangster talking directly to us about the intent.

Its a novel idea, doing a new new wave film and making the references to the nature of film being about the nature of food. To make it explicit is a scene where older Japanese thickheads are embarrassed by a younger Japanese who is extensively familiar with the French vocabulary. There's a similar scene on the Italian side, pungently misogynistic.

But it is the third element that fascinates me. That element does as much damage to all things in Japanese society as it can, those elements that are arbitrary yet solid. These are a little more accessible to this viewer than the fairly ephemeral concerns of Godard and Truffault.

Japanese in general inherit many things in their life from the Chinese giant. All these things they differentiate from their Chinese origins by extreme elaboration. Everything becomes extremely stylized, so much that the most pedestrian of Chinese things can become the basis and meaning for an entire Japanese life. Things like tea, flowers, drawing, packaging... Even a lowly bowl of soup, the soup that factory workers would eat at a diner becomes a matter of celestial obsession.

I'm not Japanese, so these stabs don't tingle. But I can recognize them, most of them.

Along the way, we have — in the gangster, his moll and her idealization as oyster and oystergirl— one or two of the most sensual cinema images in existence.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

A Remarkable But Disjointed Beginning

[jakerocks · 5/10 · 2 April 2021]

I am a fan of Juzo Itami's films but his first time directing is the most challenging to watch. Several scenes that have nothing to do with the main story are sexual or violent in nature and distracting. It would be a great film if it were 30 minutes shorter, without what he no doubt felt were necessary sex and action to keep viewers interested. The main story is beautifully told. If you can overlook the oddness of the disjointed scenes, it's an insightful film and a deep look into Japanese food culture.