Tampopo

Dir: Juzo Itami

1985

****

Juzo Itami’s 1985 raucous food related comedy has become something of a cult hit, and while it’s not all funny, it certainly still makes me hungry for more. Marketed as a ‘Ramen Western’ – a clear take on the ‘Spaghetti Western’ – Tampopo is actually much more of a classic western than you might think. Tsutomu Yamazaki’s character Goro and his sidekick Gun (played by a youthful Ken Watanabe) are clearly modern day cowboys, who force the bad element out of the town they stop at (in this case a failing Ramen noodle restaurant) and fix it up with the heart of the young owner (Nobuko Miyamotot who plays Tampopo of the film’s title – which means Dandelion in Japanese) firmly in mind. Not only does Tampopo acknowledge the western, but it also pays tribute to the classic American gangster film and the Keystone comedies with one particular scene involving a rice omelette being a clear nod to the films of Charlie Chaplin. Throughout the film Goro trains Tampopo in how to be the best Ramen chief in the whole city, taking her to the finest Ramen restaurants around and gaining ideas. Between the scenes of Tampopo’s development we are often taken away from the story and follow background characters. Each of these separate sketches evolve around food in some way of another and make statements on the social aspect of eating and how food can relate to almost every/any subject. Some of these sketches are better than others; such as the meal involving a group of businessmen. The main boss – the only one who seems to be able to read the French menu – orders first and everyone below him orders the exact same food as he does, except for the young naive trainee who hasn’t yet learned the rules of corporate hierarchy, who as the lower echelon worker, should follow his superiors direction at all times. He can clear read French and continues to order the most lavish and expensive food on offer, despite his leaders efforts to stop him by furiously kicking him under the table. Another scene sees an etiquette lesson for young girls on how to eat spaghetti. They are told by their tutor that eating spaghetti is different to eating noodles, because while slurping loudly is a polite way for the customer to offer appreciation to the cook, it is considered rude in western societies. The girls learn this, just as a western man comes in and makes the loudest slurping noises anyone has ever heard. It’s basic humour but it works and is very charming. The physical comedy is always top notch, it’s the surreal element that works less well. The film is introduced by a young man in a sharp 1950’s style white suit – a Yakuza. He breaks the forth wall by talking to the viewer, asks them to be quite and makes comment about the sort of food they should and should not be eating in the cinema. He pops up a few times throughout the film, his scene generally exploring the link between food and sex. The first scene is very funny and pre-dates the famous scene in Hot-Shots by six years, and 9 1/2 Weeks – the film it spoofs – by one. However, subsequent scenes are a little less watchable, one sees the man cut his lip on an oyster shell, only to have a child lick the blood of it and another whereby he and his girlfriend swap a raw egg between each other’s mouths until it breaks in hers and goes all over her dress. There is also a scene whereby a turtle gets his head cut off, there is a traditional and cultural significance to this but it’s still unpleasant to watch. The humour could be described as infantile but it’s mainly good clean fun. There are a load of Japanese comedies that attempt the same sort of structure but none of them are quite like Tampopo. There is something uniquely special about it, it is surreal but there is a very strong feel-good feel about it that’s utterly irresistible. The real strength of the film is the detail and how it describes the food that they eat. I challenge anyone to watch and not be hungry by the time it is over – even if they don’t like ramen, they will want some. Food, comedy and the exploration of tradition, it’s the perfect mix of ingredients. Maybe too good for director Juzo Itami, who went on to great success. His films had a global following soon after and he went on to explore other aspects of Japanese life and tradition through odd-ball comedy. His 1992 satire Minbo no Onna focused on the Yakuza and showed them to be ignorant and foolish, and six days after the release he was attacked, beaten, and slashed on the face by five members of the Goto-gumi, a Shizuoka-based yakuza clan, who were angry at his portrayal of yakuza members. This attack led to a government crackdown on the yakuza, something they blamed on him. In 1997 Juzo Itami fell from the roof of his office building, suicide was the verdict. Later reports from ex-Yakuza members have said that he was given the choice by a gang at gunpoint to be shot and die or leap and possibly survive. This is what I and many others believe happened but it has never been proven. It goes to show just how effective his films were and still are. You will smile, you will laugh, you will wince and goodness me you’ll be hungry.