Tampopo

Juzo Itami's film is a sweet, funny, romantic sometimes bizarre but always delectable ode to the multi-layered and multi-flavored relationship between man (or woman) and food. The film's title (which means Dandelion) comes from the name of the protagonist, a middle-aged widow with a bullied kid, struggling to run the Ramen restaurant left by her husband. When cowboy trucker Goro (and his buddy Gun) enter her life after having saved the kid from a beating and fended off her coercive suitor, she finds in their honest criticism of her cooking a chance to improve her skill and make a better life for herself. Goro (and a host of other people, including a band of gourmet hobos) come together to aid Tampopo in honing her craft and and push her to achieve her own holy grail of Ramen. Intersecting this main artery are several vignettes with other characters, all of which explore the almost spiritual importance of food in our lives: In a delicious jab at the culture of subservience and lack of individuality, a junior executive embarrasses his protocol-slave bosses by ordering a stand-out lavishly flavorful meal at a company lunch after all of them have opted for identical bland fare. Another episode shows a sick woman cooking a final family dinner before she drops dead. In some we see people going to desperate, even life-threatening extents to satisfy their food indulgences. Weirdness comes in the thread where a gangster and his moll indulge in kinky food-meets-sex games, including repeatedly passing a raw egg yolk between their lips till it breaks. With this wonderful smorgasbord, Itami, himself a gourmet, expresses his philosophy of food with an almost reverent air. The technical aspects of the film, its visuals and sounds, are dedicated to the service of this meditation. This was one of the early films to have a dedicated food stylist. Assuming you're not a vegan/vegetarian that gets offended by the very sight of animal food (and in one scene a young turtle is killed on camera), I dare you to watch it on an empty stomach without drooling. Like warm soup on a rainy day the film is very cheering, and the plot thread of the gangster with its kinky sex and weird metaphors for virginity is about the only thing that keeps it from being recommended as family fare. Coming off a fresh 4K restoration, the film looks and sounds mouth-watering on Criterion's blu-ray (I got the region B-locked UK release). Apart from the main feature, there's a vintage 90 min making of, hosted by director Itami himself. There are also new interviews with the lead actress (his wife), the food stylist and featurettes about the legacy of the film (including one that talks to a bunch of Ramen noodle restauranters). The cover unfolds as a full-size poster on the back of which is a single decent though not very essential essay.

This is a phenomenal movie if you haven't seen it - very funny and iconic. It's the kind of movie you remember for a while after watching and chuckle to yourself about the funny scenes. This is also a great release - criterion always gets you the best audio and visual fidelity as well as great accompaniments in the package with random things relating to the movie. I love it

Incrível filme, restauração impecável e extras ótimos.

When I first watched this movie during my university years, I loved it. It was so Monty Pythonie. Outrageous, with a tongue in cheek commentary on food and the various ways it is relished. The portions where Tampopo is being drilled like a martial artist/athlete is so funny. The various stories interweaving with each other was to me right out of a Monty Python style-book. While it is not to be taken too seriously, there are little gems that can be gleaned to take note of, or for your next culinary experience. Glad I bought it. As one of the reviewers mentioned, though, it is not a movie for the family. Or you could just skip those portions with your remote.

Buen empaque viene con un poster en el interior