Tampopo
is a 1985 Japanese comedy film written and directed by Juzo Itami, and starring Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Kōji Yakusho, and Ken Watanabe. The publicity for the film calls it the first "ramen western", a play on the term Spaghetti Western (films about the American Old West made by Italian production studios).
Plot
A pair of truck drivers, the experienced Gorō and a younger sidekick named Gun, stop at a decrepit roadside ramen noodle shop. Outside, Gorō rescues a boy who is being beaten up by three schoolmates. The boy, Tabo, turns out to be the son of Tampopo, the widowed owner of the struggling business, Lai Lai. When a customer called Pisken harasses Tampopo, Gorō invites him and his men to step outside. Gorō puts up a good fight, but outnumbered by Pisken and his men, he is knocked out and wakes up the next morning in Tampopo's home.
More details
| author | Jūzō Itami |
|---|---|
| contentLocation | Tokyo |
| director | Jūzō Itami |
| editor | Akira Suzuki |
| genre | comedy western |
| keywords | beat choke deathbed elderly man end french restaurant how to knock out last meal morning obsess one by one outnumber struggle truck driver white suit widow |
| musicBy | Kunihiko Murai |
| publisher | Toho |
| theme | food and drink japanese satirical spaghetti western yakuza |