Tampopo

A truck driver stops at a failing noodle shop and decides to teach the woman who runs it to make better soup. Other experts join them. The film keeps cutting away from that line: unconnected short scenes about food are dropped in, some comic, some erotic, some sad. The narrative rebuilds the shape of a western around noodles and takes food as its only subject. Juzo Itami wrote and directed. Nobuko Miyamoto leads, with Ken Watanabe and Koji Yakusho also in the cast. Who it's for: those who like comedies built on food that play with their own structure. Who it's not for: viewers wanting a straight narrative; the interludes never connect to the main story.