A solid Japanese comedy from the 1980’s, but it’s a film I’ll probably not watch again for a while

Whimsical, warm-hearted comedy with surrealist interludes that reflects on food as a source -- and object -- of deep human passion.

noah:says tampopo (1986) is my favourite movie!

Not interesting and filled with pointless irrelevant scenes. Would have worked much better as a shorter movie solely about the main character, and a separate movie with the other scenes as short random stories. Felt like a waste of time.

A quirky Japanese comedy.

I never thought I would find a two hour movie about the production and consumption of food to be entertaining, but I did. It's a charming film.

A true classic, as timeless as it gets.

They really turned the phrase Spaghetti Western on its head. Just a silly but wonderful take on life, food, and artistry. Visit your local Ramen place afterwards.

It is certainly high cinema in a lot of ways, artistic and boundary pushing. It also has moment of comic brilliance. But the weird factor or the missing cultural context for non-Japanese viewers may make it hard to appreciate some segments.

Insanely good acting and an unexpected story.

As my partner eloquently put it, it's like Monty Python and Wes Anderson went to Japan. That pretty much sums it up. It's super weird and really funny. It gets a little slow at times but there are enough silly skits sprinkled in to keep it interesting even when the main plot is slowing down. Warning: do not watch while hungry.

I wanted some cheerful movie for our film club after some not-so-cheerful series of movies. This movie was the first result and it's absolutely glorious. While I don't approve of the absolute dedication and practically giving up on their life of most ramen owners and I probably couldn't tell the difference between bad, decent and glorious ramen, I just have to appreciate the "gang's" input in all this. And the seemingly unrelated "slice of life" stories are just legendary in all this setting.

You might see a lot of mark-down reviews, how pointless this movie is, how it has some ahead-of-its time Pulp Fiction lack of continuity...I say, put it like this! It was way ahead of its time! It was brilliant. It captures Japan. It doesn't conform to some gender-lost concept of emotional equity or lost angst that envelopes Hollywood like a wet-dog fur blanket. It DOES capture the amazing dicotomy and nearly alternate universe weirdness that was...and still is Japan. If you can't afford a trip TO Japan, get your mitts on this movie and watch it like...three times. It seems simple, but bro, it is anything BUT simple! It is like a trip to a sushi-shop where the food come around on a track and you see what others are eating, it passes by sort of jerky and wiggling... but have to ask yourself..."Is that something humans should be eating!?" Then you get bold and try it. Next thing you know you are naked in bed in the height of passion passing a raw egg from mouth to mouth until it bursts. Oh yeah. Once you go Asian, you never go back to Caucasian...Tompoppo. No movie like it.

"Tampopo" is a bizarre but sophisticated cinematic satire that includes elements belonging to several film genres: road movie, spy movie, western, romantic comedy, documentary, martial arts movie, "chanbara" (チャンバラ, the so-called "samurai movie"). Various ingredients to give life to a sincere but parodic cross section of contemporary Japanese society, all seasoned with playful, simple, optimistic joie de vivre. Different characters are united by similar cravings and desires: in each episode we observe the power and importance that food, constant in the film, has on people who cook, eat, taste, savor; often acquiring symbolic value and erotic connotations. The narrative composition refers to the classic literary genre "renga" (連歌), in which the poetic lines are not connected directly to each other but linked obliquely giving a sense of uniqueness. Itami's recipe is a success; "Tampopo" one of the most intelligent comedies of Japanese cinema history. The uninhibited execution, without restrictions (even breaking the fourth wall), creates a fresh and hilarious mosaic. The didactic nature of the main story is clear: only by setting aside one's disagreements and collaborating, facing life with vitality and positivity, one can hope to create an excellent dish. "Tampopo" is an irreverent and exuberant comedy with many references to the Japanese folklore heritage and influences and homages to the cinematography, creating new allegorical figures that enrich the popular imaginary.

Unconventional, not for everyone, yet incredibly funny, well-acted, and well-shot. There are multiple 1+ minute long takes in this film that made my jaw drop. If you're looking for a uniquely clever comedy, watch Tampopo.

The most delightful film that I now think about every single time I eat Ramen. This adorable, classic movie has so much to love

Brilliantly funny, sexy and appetite-stimulating. A unique comic masterpiece.

I'm going to get noodles tonight because of this movie. Tampopo is a clinic in originality. On paper, there is no way this film should have ever worked; it combines classic spaghetti Western tropes with a foodie plot focused on ramen. It incorporate a series of brief vignettes focused on food that are totally independent of the main story and pop up sporadically without fanfare or context. There is a recurring subplot of a gangster who uses eggs in sexual ways. But it's all so brilliantly eccentric, so wholesome, and so hunger-inducing that you can't turn away. There is such a sense of playfulness and whimsy here that feels so lacking in other movies, a sense of experimentation that makes it engaging and fun. It combines distinctive elements of Japanese culture with a love of classic foreign films - the Western, the screwball comedy, and the gangster tropes - that Izumi manages to convey both a sense of comfortable familiarity and novelty at the same time. When it comes to humor, there is a very particular combination that Tampopo taps into, a mix of affability, cleverness, context-heavy dialogue that hits all the right notes; the closest that I can describe it would likely be the work of Wes Anderson or the Paddington series. You can't tell me that a series of bums passionately revealing their status as culinary masters directly into the camera doesn't seem like an Anderson-style scene. Totally unique, hilarious, and wonderful. (5/5)

There is a lot to say about this film, but let me just start off by saying that I absolutely loved this film! There is so much to admire and it makes you realise the importance of food in so many different ways than we can imagine. The owner of a fast food point, who sells noodles takes help from two truck drivers to make her noodles better. What confused me at first was the scene of intimacy between two side characters. For me, it first felt unnecessary and unrelated to the plot, and it only increased the age rating. Later, besides the main story, there were a few more scenes, not necessarily intimate, but unrelated to the story. That's where I realised what the film was trying to do. Other than telling the story, the film uses these small scenes to show how important food is for the Japanese culture in almost every aspect of life. Be it love or be it death. Food binds us in more ways than we think. This step is bold, but executed to perfection, because though at first it may feel unnecessary and overlong, it will surely get to you at some point. The comedy in this film is gorgeous, and what makes it spectacular is how natural it is. It is not forced or unrealistic, and instead, makes use of the present situation to somehow make it pleasantly funny. It makes the film light and fun, not too tough and serious to bore you out. Another thing that impresses me is the way the film hits almost every emotion. It is funny, sad at points, serious, joyous, and tense. The way it is constructed and the way it is acted really leaves a long-lasting impression. And yeah, now I know how to eat my ramen when I get one, and boy did this film get me hungry for some!

A film of gourmands, for gourmands, Tampopo had the most lasting impression on me than any film I watched in my college Japanese film class and is still exquisite in its comedy and commentary on mid-1980s Japan. Note* It took me forever to find this on a streaming platform, but HBO MAX has an excellent selection of domestic and foreign films, FYI. The film follows the main plot of Tampopo (Nobuko Miyamoto) and her trials and tribulations she endures to create a successful ramen shop — not just successful financially, but in creating a truly great product. Her team, which grows throughout the film like a heist movie, consists of Gorō (Tsutomo Yamazaki), the leader and reluctant sensei, Gun (Ken Watanabe(!)), Pisuken (Rikiya Yasuoka), Shōhei (Kinzo Sakura), and "The Ramen Master," (Yoshi Katō). Together, they train Tampopo in the art of broth and noodle making and conduct reconnaissance on competitors. However, the film doesn't just follow this plotline, but branches off into several other food-centric vignettes, most notable being the salaryman lunch where, after reviewing a classical French menu (in French), and none of the stoic men able to read it — but too stubborn to ask — all order the same exact meal (sole, consommé, and Heineken). However, the young associate/intern, literally physically assaulted for dropping briefcases and kicked underneath the table, places and elegant, inquiry-laden order with the waiter all to the chagrin of his elders. My two other favorite vignettes were the "woman who keeps touching the produce and pastries" and the "spaghetti-eating lesson," which features a westerner who keeps interrupting the clinic with slurping of his own. A recurring subplot involves the "Man in the White Suit" (Kōji Yakusho), a yakuza who would be called a "foodie" by today's parlance. The gangster and his mistress (Fukumi Kuroda) use food as sex-toy, beginning with something out of Varsity Blues to live-shrimp splashing on naked stomachs and mouth-swapping egg-yolks. His speech to his lover while bleeding out in the street, concerning yam sausages harvested from the belly of wild boar, is gold. It's a film about the boom of 1980s Japan, where even the homeless can describe Bordeaux wine like a sommelier and a woman rises seemingly from the dead to cook her family one final meal. With a feel-good ending, our cowboys riding off into the sunset, I love this movie and can't recommend it enough.