If the Japanese word for noodle is Ramen, does Ramen Noodles mean Noodles Noodles?
I once read an article about the genetic engineering of rice, something loaded with beta carotene which produced a yellowish colored rice called 'Golden Rice.' One article said that it would be easy to introduce the rice into Eastern cultures, because of the way the traditional Eastern cultures viewed food as a sacred thing, especially rice. I seem to remember that certain rices, usually based on the color, were reserved for different things. I think dark rice was served during ceremonies or as a signal of an upperclass status. But the point was, that certain cultures view food as such a holy, sacred thing that other cultures may not.
That's what Tampopo is all about, the beauty of food. Kind of reminds me of Cibbo Motto's first album, "Vive La Woman" where ever song is about food. In Tampopo, we may start with Tampopo's painstaking quest to be the best noodlemaker, but eventually, we get little strings of skit-like stories interspersed throughout the picture showing the different ways food is valued. In the beginning, for example, the film opens up in with a couple in a theater, and the man in the white suit talking about how he didn't like to be disturbed by the sounds of crinkling bags of potato chips and other assorted theater food. Meanwhile, he and his date are being served quite a fine feast (considering they're only in a theater) when they arrive at the theater. Something unusual for me as well funny, and as you will see in the rest of the movie, something completely different. You may never look at food the same again.
The main story is that of Tampopo, a noodlemaker at Lai Lai. One night a visitor, Goro, stops in her restaurant and gives her advice about the quality of her soup. In sort of a parody of Rocky, Goro trains her to be the best noodlemaker in a way that the Lai Lai into a temple of noodles. She starts to meet people along the way who are noodle masters themselves who will train her how to take care into each noodle and so forth. So precise and everything else.
As the story continues, we see a master and his trainee learning how to eat a bowl of soup. The rituals, the caressing of the meat with the chopsticks, and all of that. We see the couple who place a sensuous value upon food, using it somewhat as a substitute for actual sex. We see a man who's wife is on her deathbed, but manages the strength to get up and cook rice for the family before dying. We see a series of homeless vagrants who tell Tampopo about all the exciting foods and beverages they've been working on. They describe brilliant French cuisines and one man even notes that he's worked fifteen years on perfecting a type of sake. In another part of the film, we briefly see some Japanese businessmen in a restaurant. All order sole except for one, who I think is something like an intern-type, who goes through great effort describing the meal he wishes to order and what it is made of, even the beverage. I think this movie is pretty funny for us American audiences because the idea seems so stupid: everyone is so serious about food. Asian cultures may look at this differently, and find it funny because of things the characters say (like the dentists who remove a man's absess in his tooth and have to run to the window because it smelled so bad), knowing that they too, hold food in the same value. It's really remarkable the context that the film can be taken simply because of an unusual subject: food. This movie shows how nearly every facet of life revolves around food.
Don't watch it on an empty stomach.
I once read an article about the genetic engineering of rice, something loaded with beta carotene which produced a yellowish colored rice called 'Golden Rice.' One article said that it would be easy to introduce the rice into Eastern cultures, because of the way the traditional Eastern cultures viewed food as a sacred thing, especially rice. I seem to remember that certain rices, usually based on the color, were reserved for different things. I think dark rice was served during ceremonies or as a signal of an upperclass status. But the point was, that certain cultures view food as such a holy, sacred thing that other cultures may not.
That's what Tampopo is all about, the beauty of food. Kind of reminds me of Cibbo Motto's first album, "Vive La Woman" where ever song is about food. In Tampopo, we may start with Tampopo's painstaking quest to be the best noodlemaker, but eventually, we get little strings of skit-like stories interspersed throughout the picture showing the different ways food is valued. In the beginning, for example, the film opens up in with a couple in a theater, and the man in the white suit talking about how he didn't like to be disturbed by the sounds of crinkling bags of potato chips and other assorted theater food. Meanwhile, he and his date are being served quite a fine feast (considering they're only in a theater) when they arrive at the theater. Something unusual for me as well funny, and as you will see in the rest of the movie, something completely different. You may never look at food the same again.
The main story is that of Tampopo, a noodlemaker at Lai Lai. One night a visitor, Goro, stops in her restaurant and gives her advice about the quality of her soup. In sort of a parody of Rocky, Goro trains her to be the best noodlemaker in a way that the Lai Lai into a temple of noodles. She starts to meet people along the way who are noodle masters themselves who will train her how to take care into each noodle and so forth. So precise and everything else.
As the story continues, we see a master and his trainee learning how to eat a bowl of soup. The rituals, the caressing of the meat with the chopsticks, and all of that. We see the couple who place a sensuous value upon food, using it somewhat as a substitute for actual sex. We see a man who's wife is on her deathbed, but manages the strength to get up and cook rice for the family before dying. We see a series of homeless vagrants who tell Tampopo about all the exciting foods and beverages they've been working on. They describe brilliant French cuisines and one man even notes that he's worked fifteen years on perfecting a type of sake. In another part of the film, we briefly see some Japanese businessmen in a restaurant. All order sole except for one, who I think is something like an intern-type, who goes through great effort describing the meal he wishes to order and what it is made of, even the beverage. I think this movie is pretty funny for us American audiences because the idea seems so stupid: everyone is so serious about food. Asian cultures may look at this differently, and find it funny because of things the characters say (like the dentists who remove a man's absess in his tooth and have to run to the window because it smelled so bad), knowing that they too, hold food in the same value. It's really remarkable the context that the film can be taken simply because of an unusual subject: food. This movie shows how nearly every facet of life revolves around food.
Don't watch it on an empty stomach.