
Film
Tampopo
- Director
- Juzo Itami
- Certificate
- 15
- Running Time
- 114 mins
Originally released way back in 1985, Japanese director Juzo Itami‘s cult freewheeling foodie flick was described as the world’s first ‘ramen western’ thanks to its copious references to the likes of The Seven Samurai and Shane.
It’s an enjoyable if rather episodic yarn in which a trucker turns a roadside noodle bar run by the eponymous widow (the director’s wife, Nobuko Miyamoto) into Tokyo’s hottest restaurant. Much fun is had along the way as comic parallels are drawn between nosh and sex. It’s back on screen in the BFI Comedy Genius season.