Food on Film: Tampopo

Food On Film Season 6…we’re baaaack!

4 Thursday screenings, at 6pm: 1/11, 2/8, 3/8 & 4/12

This season’s theme Hélas pour Moi ( Oh, Woe is Me)

Here’s what our series co-creator Kim Skapich has to say about this season:

I am captivated by the Netflix “Chefs Table” series—not for the recipes nor the techniques—but to hear Chefs describe their moments of self-doubt and worry as they embark on opening their own restaurants. Usually they are all in—on the verge of bankruptcy, questioning their motives, perhaps trapped by their obsessions, facing half-empty dining rooms, and what makes them push on or quit?

It is part of the human condition to face and question failure and motivation, but how one deals with this dilemma is the subject of Season Six of Food on Film.

An appropriate sub-title could also be “To Dream the Impossible Dream.”

The protagonists in these films have a personal quest that involves poignant questions. What is perfection? What is a natural habitat? How do we confront bias and prejudice? How do we define success? What is our moral compass?

The films deal with this serious subject with satire, humor, determination and a lot of drama proving that sometimes things have to go wrong in order to become all right.

TONIGHT’S SCREENING:

Tampopo (1985, Dir. Jûzô Itami Starring: Ken Watanabe, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto)

How does Tampopo create the perfect Ramen and serve it in a perfect restaurant?

Finally! Itamis’ “noodle western” is released on DVD. This humorous commentary on Japanese cultural traditions reflected in the lampooning of Spanish spaghetti westerns and French gangster films is a cult favorite.

Satirical vignettes are intercut throughout the narrative featuring Food, glorious food and the many meanings of nourishment become as clear as broth.

Menu *Edamame *Lola’s Vegetable Ramen with Tofu in a Shitake & Cinderella Pumpkin broth * Yokan