Tampopo by Jûzô Itami (Review)

It looks at all of the ways that something as necessary as food can hold such importance in people’s lives and culture.
Tampopo

So I’m surrounded by junk food (chocolates, crackers, pizza, and plenty of Hawaiian punch). Really, what else would I be eating at a movie marathon? But then I have to make it through a movie like Tampopo, a movie that’s as much for the palate as it is for the eyes, and I’m suddenly hungry for a good bowl of noodles.

Set in and around the Lai Lai Noodle Shop, the movie follows a woman named Tampopo and her quest to be the greatest noodle chef in the land. She’s an excellent chef, but her noodle recipe is lacking. Aided by a cowboy trucker named Goro (who looks like the Japanese version of John Wayne, complete with swagger) and various companions (an interior designer, the cuisinary master of a group of beggars), she carefully studies the art of noodle-making.

But that’s just one story. In reality, the movie is a celebration of all things food-related. It constantly breaks away from Tampopo’s plight, plunging into very loosely connected scenes that all revolve around food in one way or another. There’s the old lady who likes to squeeze fruit, the man who commands his dying wife to cook dinner for her family so they’ll have one last meal together, and the couple whose enjoyment of food goes way beyond mere nutrition (if you know what I mean).

Sometimes these stories eventually dovetail back into the main plot, but usually they don’t, adding flavor and spice to an already flavorful movie. That’s not to say they’re all good and interesting. Some, such as the man with the abcess in his mouth, don’t really have anything to do with the movie at all. And personally, I could do without the food festish couple (especially the oyster/bleeding mouth scene).

But in hindsight, I guess the whole movie is about the fetish that people have for eating. It looks at all of the ways that something as necessary as food can hold such importance in people’s lives and culture (the movie opens with the scene of a master explaining the proper way to eat a bowl of noodles, right down to the last minute detail). It’s a safe bet that you’ll never look at those ramen noodles you ate in college the same way. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get some takeout.

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