Tampopo
The first Japanese Noodle Western.
In this humorous paean to the joys of food, a pair of truck drivers happen onto 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.
- Year: 1985
- Country: Japan
- Genre: Comedy
- Studio: New Century Producers, Itami Productions
- Keyword: widow, restaurant, business woman, restaurant owner, bullying, sensei, food, truck driver, erotic vignettes, hoodlum, foodie, stealing recipes, eastern philosophy, ramen, food culture, small town cook, gastronomia, recipes and preparation details, helping people, chef female lead, japanese restaurant, ramen noodles
- Director: Jūzō Itami
- Cast: Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Ken Watanabe, Koji Yakusho, Rikiya Yasuoka, Kinzō Sakura