Tampopo (1985) - Yummy! - 9/10 (19/09/18)

Tampopo is certainly one of the most creative and imaginative movies I have ever seen. The film is humorously categorized as ramen western which is obviously a pun on the spaghetti western genre but it fits surprisingly well. One could also describe it as an anthology film because the main plot is interrupted by numeros anecdotic side stories about the relation between humans and food. The main story follows a truck driver who helps a restaurant owner and single mother transform her pitiful ramen shop into one of the city's greatest restaurants. The movie has a positive message as it shows what human beings can accomplish when they support one another.

The main story is already quite quirky as the cool truck driver with a cowboy hat who seems to come straight out of an American western of the fifties finds numerous people who help him improving Tampopo's ramen shop. We meet a homeless ramen connoisseur with excellent manners, a quirky limousine driver who secretely is a hobby cook as well as a rough contractor who always looks for a fight but turns out having a heart of gold. These characters observe other ramen shop owners, try to find the perfect recipe for ramen broth and successively transform the decrepit shop into a clean restaurant.

The side stories are also refreshing and show how people ignore conventions in order to appreciate food to the fullest. We see a lowly worker who displays his vast culinary knowledge in a French restaurant while his bossy superiors always order the same thing without thinking about it or even understanding the menu. We observe a mother on her deathbed who rises for one last time to cook a final dinner for her saddened family. We follow a woman obsessed with squeezing food in a supermarket who is tracked down by a clerk who then observes a twisted investment scam. One side story that has recurring elements is the love story of an elegant gangster and his girlfriend who use food to sexually arouse one another. It's strange to realize that some scenes that initially seem disgusting are actually exciting such as the scene when the elegant gangster hurts his lips while eating an oyster he purchased from a poor female fisher which makes their social discrepancy disappear as they start sharing an intimate kiss.

Tampopo is an unusual experience as it always comes around with more surprising anecdotic elements that request multiple viewings. I have rarely felt like watching a movie again just after it had come to its conclusion but this was exactly the case here. If you like creative filmmaking, food and Japanese culture, Tampopo is what you have always been looking for but didn't know existed. After having watched this movie, I felt like going to a restaurant and have an excellent meal and this is precisely the film's entire purpose.