‘Tampopo’, the Pioneering ‘Ramen Western’

Released in 1985, this second feature film from Juzo Itami is a ‘ramen western’, alluding to the famous ‘spaghetti westerns’, films made in Italy, of which one of the most iconic representatives is Sergio Leone.  

This film is considered as a food-erotica comedy of sorts. It contains western elements, violence, spying and zany stories, the latter often being linked to food (for example the woman who goes around fondling fruit and cheese in a supermarket, and the couple whose bedroom antics feature eggs).

In search of the perfect noodles

The heroine, Tampopo, is a young widow who runs a noodle soup (ramen) restaurant in a working-class neighbourhood in Tokyo, where she meets Goro, a trucker who looks like a cowboy. Goro finds that Tampopo’s ramen is ‘missing something’. The pair decide to set out on a culinary quest, the aim of which is to find the perfect noodle recipe.

Humorous and satirical, the film nevertheless maintains a deeply respectful attitude towards food. Tampopo was restored and re-released in cinemas in 2016. It’s a film that’s ideal to (re)watch while enjoying a bowl of Japanese noodle soup. 

Tampopo (1985), a movie directed by Juzo Itami and released on DVD and blu-ray by The Criterion Collection.