After the "spaghetti western," could the "ramen western" be far behind? That's how director Juzo Itami describes Tampopo, an oddball comedy "about people in a situation where sex and eating are not yet clearly separated." What little plot there is has to do with two truckdrivers who teach Tampopo, the mousy proprietress of a rundown noodle shop, how to make and serve the best noodles. Along the way, viewers pick up tips on such diverse subjects as how to make great noodle soup in three minutes flat, the zen of eating ramen ("while slurping the noodles, look at the pork, eye it affectionately"), the perils of eating noisy food when watching a movie-and some unbelievably erotic things to be done with the yolk of an egg. This wildly original work has more than enough belly-laughs (but) with mouthwatering dishes served up in every third scene, it is definitely a film you should not see on an empty stomach.-Peter Scarlet, SFIFF