Tampopo

Juzo Itami’s “ramen western” is a lavish tribute to taste and desire. Enjoy this genre-bending 1985 film dedicated to the emotional power of food.

In this humorous paean to the joys of food, a pair of truck drivers happen upon a decrepit roadside shop selling ramen noodles. The widowed owner, Tampopo, begs them to help her turn her establishment into a paragon of the “art of noodle-soup making.” Interspersed are satirical vignettes about the importance of food to different aspects of human life.

1985. Directed by Juzo Itami. Runtime: 1hr 54min. Not Rated.