Japanese Film Club presents: Tampopo15

Directed by Jûzô Itami | Japan | 1988 | 1h 54m | Japanese w/ English subtitles | Starring Ken Watanabe, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Koji Yakusho, Rikiya Yasuoka

Two Japanese truck drivers stumble upon a run-down roadside fast food stop selling ramen noodles and decide to help the struggling business thrive. This tantalising story of underdog restaurateurs parodies classic Western genre tropes, while also providing a humorous and satirical perspective on Japan’s meticulous culinary scene.

A one-off screening presented in partnership with Japanese Film Club. 

Reviews

‘Tampopo is one of those utterly original movies that seems to exist in no known category.’
★★★★
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

‘Tampopo is buoyantly free in form. It’s as much an essay as it is a narrative — always ready to digress into random gags and comic anecdotes.’
Vincent Canby, The New York Times

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed Japanese Film Club presents: Tampopo between May 12, 2024 and December 4, 2025.

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