Tampopo

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 truck drivers who teach Tampopo, the mousy proprietress of a rundown noodle shop, how to make and serve the best noodles. 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.