REEL ODDITIES: TAMPOPO

July 2, 9, 23 & 30, 2025
Reel Oddities: Tampopo
The tale of an eccentric band of culinary ronin who guide the widow of a noodle-shop owner on her quest for the perfect recipe, this rapturous “ramen western” by Japanese director Juzo Itami is an entertaining, genre-bending adventure underpinned by a deft satire of the way social conventions distort the most natural of human urges—our appetites. Interspersing the efforts of Tampopo (Nobuko Miyamoto) and friends to make her café a success with the erotic exploits of a gastronome gangster and glimpses of food culture both high and low, the sweet, sexy, and surreal Tampopo is a lavishly inclusive paean to the sensual joys of nourishment, and one of the most mouthwatering examples of food on film ever made.
Dir: Juzo Itami / 1985 / Japanese with English subtitles / 114 min

“Tampopo is one of those utterly original movies that seems to exist in no known category.” – Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

SCREENING: WED 7/2 7PM; WED 7/9 7PM; WED 7/23 7PM; WED 7/30 7PM

$13 GA & $10 OFS. Tickets are available at the box office 30 minutes before showtimes.