TAMPOPO

A Scrumptious Cinematic Feast

Venue(s): Toho Cinemas Nichigeki
Jan. 13 (Fri), 2017: 1915
Language: Japanese with English subtitles
Official website: www.nihon-eiga.com/osusume/itami2017/
Tariff: Application period has ended, sorry.
Advance tickets: Application period has ended, sorry.
Talk event: Actress Nobuko Miyamoto will greet the audience before the screening.

Title: タンポポ (Tampopo)

Is there any better way to welcome the new year than to rewatch the instant classic Tampopo? Celebrating the film’s 30th anniversary, Nihon Eiga Broadcasting Corp. digitally remastered Juzo Itami’s 1985 masterpiece and sent it on a triumphant US tour in late autumn (where New York viewers could even buy ramen-flavored popcorn).

And now, it’s our turn: Tampopo will have a limited one-night-only English-subbed screening on January 13, with Itami’s widow — and the film’s luminous star — Nobuko Miyamoto on hand to greet the audience before screening.

Best of all, the screening is absolutely free. But you must act now to apply for your seat, since the deadline to enter the lottery for free tickets is midnight, January 3, 2017!

Application period has ended, sorry.
To apply, send your full name and email address to the following:
Nihon Eiga Broadcasting Corporation
info@nihon-eiga.com

Winners will receive a notification via email. Be sure to bring the notification with you to the theater on January 13, since it’s your ticket. Please understand that not all applications can be accommodated.

The very first “Ramen Western,” Tampopo found immediate acclaim on its overseas release in 1986, becoming one of the first Japanese crossover hits in several decades, heralded not only for its offbeat humor and stellar cast (which included Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Kōji Yakusho and Ken Watanabe), but also for its delectable celebration of Japanese ramen, among other savory dishes. The film tells the Shane-like tale of a pair of truck drivers, Gorō (Yamazaki) and his young sidekick Gun (Watanabe), who stop at a rundown roadside ramen noodle shop, where Goro falls immediately for its proprietress. Alas, the beautiful widow Tampopo (Miyamoto) never quite mastered the culinary crafts, but with Goro’s help, she gradually learns to cook up the best ramen broth in town, thus reviving her shop and her fortunes. There are many subplots, but one of special note involves a young gangster in a white suit (Yakusho) and his lover (Fukumi Kuroda), who explore erotic ways to enjoy food.

Ramen is now considered the Japanese national dish, with booming popularity overseas — and Tampopo is considered an impetus for the interest.

Film Comment’s Michael Sragow recently wrote that, on its original release,

If Itami had managed to revive AromaRama or Smell-o-Vision, or had come up with scratch-and-sniff cards to match the scents of soy, onion, and wasabi, the movie might never have stopped running.

Toho Cinemas Nichigeki