Customer Ratings & Reviews

I almost threw up while watching this movie, but I was still kind of hungry when the credits began to roll. 'Tampopo' is mainly about a single mother who is trying to keep her deceased husband's ramen shop afloat. There are a lot of side stories that go on too that don't always connect with Tampopo's, which sometimes took me out of the movie. There are also a few parts that made me gag or cringe (such as the raw egg scene and the turtle scene), but this movie still held a certain raw charm. The majority of the characters were a pleasure to watch, but, as I said above, some of the side stories following different characters that had little to no effect on Tampopo's life seemed unnessary. This lead to a disconnect for me at points. The food, however, and the attention to it is the best part of this film. It gives an appreciation for the things we eat everyday. I do not recommend viewing this film while hungry.

I had never heard of this film until Criterion announced an upcoming release of it early in 2017. Tampopo is a film that's hard to define. The mood can turn from dramatic to comedic suddenly, but that somehow works here. If you are interested in the process of creating food and how everyone appreciates food in their own unique way, give this film a try. The video quality is amazing and the special features are very insightful.