Tampopo

This article is about the Japanese film. For the J-pop group, see Tanpopo.
Tampopo

Pamphlet cover
Directed by Juzo Itami
Produced by
  • Juzo Itami
  • Yasushi Tamaoki
  • Seigo Hosogoe[1]
Screenplay by Juzo Itami
Starring
Music by Kunihiko Murai[1]
Cinematography Masaki Tamura[1]
Edited by Akira Suzuki[1]
Production
companies
  • Itami Productions
  • New Century Producers[1]
Distributed by Toho
Release dates
  • November 23, 1985 (1985-11-23) (Japan)
Running time
 115 minutes[1]
Country Japan

Tampopo (タンポポ Tanpopo, literally "dandelion") is a 1985 Japanese comedy film by director Juzo Itami, starring Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Kōji Yakusho, and Ken Watanabe. The publicity for the film calls it the first "ramen western", a play on the term Spaghetti Western (films about the American Old West made by Italian production studios).

Plot

A pair of truck drivers, the experienced Gorō (Tsutomu Yamazaki) and a younger sidekick named Gun (Ken Watanabe), stop at a decrepit roadside ramen noodle shop. Outside, Gorō rescues a boy who is being beaten up by three schoolmates. The boy, Tabo, turns out to be the son of the widowed owner of the struggling business, Tampopo (Nobuko Miyamoto). When a customer called Pisken (Rikiya Yasuoka) harasses Tampopo, Gorō invites him and his men to step outside. Gorō puts up a good fight, but outnumbered by Pisken and his men, he is knocked out and wakes up the next morning in Tampopo's home.

When Tampopo asks their opinion of her noodles, Gorō and Gun tell her they are "sincere, but lack character." After Gorō gives her some advice, she asks him to become her teacher. They decide to turn her establishment into a paragon of the "art of noodle soup making". Gorō takes her around and points out the strengths and weaknesses of her competitors. She still cannot get the broth just right, so Gorō brings in the "old master" (Yoshi Katō) and his superlative expertise. When they rescue a wealthy elderly man from choking on his food, he lends her his chauffeur Shohei, who has a masterful way with noodles. They also steal the best recipes from their competitors. During the transition, the group agrees to have the restaurant's name changed from Lai Lai to "Tampopo".

Pisken feels bad for being too drunk to tell his men to stay out of the fight, so he offers Gorō another chance one on one. After the rematch ends in a draw, Pisken reveals he is a contractor, and offers to make over the shop's interior. Tampopo's latest effort still comes up short, so Pisken teaches her his own secret recipe. When the five men consume her latest creation down to the last drop, Tampopo knows she has won. (Tabo also triumphs, beating all three of his tormentors). As customers fill her newly redecorated shop, the men file out one by one.

The main narrative is interspersed with stories involving food on several levels. Satirical vignettes involve a lowly worker who upstages his superiors by displaying his vast culinary knowledge while ordering at a gourmet French restaurant; a housewife who rises from her deathbed to cook one last meal for her family; and a women's etiquette class on how to eat spaghetti properly. Another subplot involves a corner store clerk who has to deal with an older woman (Sen Hara) obsessed with squeezing food. The clerk's scene segues into a restaurant involving an investment scam and the intended victim, who turns out to be a conman himself.

The primary subplot involves a young man in a white suit (Kōji Yakusho) – an elegant gangster – and his lover (Fukumi Kuroda), who explore erotic ways to use food. In the end, the man is shot several times by an unknown assailant, to his lover's horror, but uses his last words to convey his secret recipe for sausages.

Cast

Release

A road show release of Tampopo was distributed by Toho on November 23, 1985.[1] The film was released by New Yorker Films in the United States in 1987.[1]

Reception

Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars, commenting that "Like the French comedies of Jacques Tati, it's a bemused meditation on human nature in which one humorous situation flows into another offhandedly, as if life were a series of smiles."[3]

Hal Hinson of The Washington Post wrote, "The movie, which Itami calls a 'noodle western,' is a rambunctious mixture of the bawdy and the sublime."[4] "'Tampopo' is perhaps the funniest movie about the connection between food and sex ever made."[4]

Vincent Canby provided a somewhat dissenting, though still positive, opinion in his New York Times review, stating, "Though it's not consistently funny ... 'Tampopo' is one of the more engaging films to be shown in this year's [New Directors/New Films] series."[5] "Mr. Itami often strains after comic effects that remain elusive. The most appealing thing about 'Tampopo' is that he never stops trying."[5]

Tampopo has received unanimous praise from critics, with a 100% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes, based on 28 reviews.[6]

Legacy

The 2006 American/Japanese movie The Ramen Girl, in which a girl played by Brittany Murphy learns how to make ramen, contains many references to Tampopo, including a cameo by Tsutomu Yamazaki.

A number of ramen restaurants around the world are named Tampopo.

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Galbraith IV 2008, p. 346.
  2. 1 2 "Tampopo". Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  3. ↑ Ebert, Roger (1987-09-11). "Tampopo Review". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2012-08-23.
  4. 1 2 Hinson, Hal (June 17, 1987). "'Tampopo' (NR)". The Washington Post.
  5. 1 2 Canby, Vincent (March 26, 1987). "New Directors/New Films; 'Tampopo,' A Comedy from Japan". The New York Times.
  6. ↑ Tampopo at Rotten Tomatoes

References

  • Galbraith IV, Stuart (2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 1461673747. 

Further reading

External links

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