Tampopo (JFT People’s Choice Award screening)

Tampopo

タンポポ

Wednesday, September 2, 6:30PM (ET)

Doors open 6:00PM | Film Screening | In-Person | JFT Event Hall

Directed by ITAMI Jūzō • 1985 • 115 minutes • Presented in Japanese with English subtitles • Trailer 

A self-proclaimed “ramen Western,” Tampopo is a playful and delicious satire on food, desire, and Japanese culture. The story follows truck driver Goro (YAMAZAKI Tsutomu) and his sidekick Gun (WATANABE Ken) as they help Tampopo (MIYAMOTO Nobuko), a widowed noodle shop owner, perfect her ramen recipe and transform her small eatery into a local legend. Through a series of eccentric vignettes—from a gangster’s sensual food rituals to an etiquette lesson gone wrong—ITAMI Jūzō serves up a loving and absurd meditation on the art of eating and living. Both hilarious and heartfelt, Tampopo celebrates the pursuit of perfection and the joy found in a simple bowl of ramen.

©Janus Films

Content Warning: This film contains brief scenes of animal violence. Viewer discretion is advised.  

Part 2 of our JFT People’s Choice Award screenings. The current and former JFT Film Program Officers will join for a post-screening chat.

Free admission. Registration required.

Please note: Due to the high demand for these screenings, we kindly ask that each person register for and attend only one of the JFT People’s Choice Award screenings. This will help ensure that as many members of our community as possible have the opportunity to attend these final screenings. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Register here

Both screenings are currently fully booked. If tickets become available due to cancellations or returns, they will be released through Eventbrite. We encourage you to check the registration pages regularly for any newly available tickets.

We will also have a rush line before the event to release available seats on a first-come, first-served basis. Admission is not guaranteed. Thank you for your understanding.

Director Profile:

ITAMI Jūzō (伊丹 十三, 1933-1997) was a Japanese actor, essayist, screenwriter and film director. One of Japan’s most distinctive satirists, Itami began his career as an actor, where he used the stage name ITAMI Ichizō (伊丹 一三). He appeared in foreign-language films such as 55 Days at Peking (1963) and Lord Jim (1965). In 1965, he published a book called Diary of Boredom in Europe, an essay collection of his thoughts and reflections on his time in Europe. In 1967, when working with director ŌSHIMA Nagisa on the set of Sing a Song of Sex, he met actress MIYAMOTO Nobuko; they got married in 1969 and Miyamoto would later star in all his films. Itami turned to filmmaking in the 1980s. His directorial debut, The Funeral (1984), was a critical and commercial success in Japan and won many awards, including Japanese Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. With Tampopo (1985), he reached international acclaim, cementing his reputation for subversive wit and inventive storytelling. His following film A Taxing Woman (1987) was again highly successful. It won six major Japanese Academy awards and spawned a sequel A Taxing Woman’s Return in 1988.  Itami’s films often tackled contemporary Japanese life, from consumerism and bureaucracy to gender roles, with his signature blend of sharp social observation and wry humor.