The main plot revolves around a ramen-restaurant owner trying to improve her recipe and her business. There are connected subplots like her son being bullied at school, and two of her patrons having a fracas early on. One of them, Gorou(Yamazaki), a trucker, helps her throughout her journey. Obviously, all these stories share something in common, namely a happy ending. There are also some non-related suplots, which are related to the main story only by their physical proximity to an event of the main theme. They are all loosely based on food as the main story is.
The main point of this movie is how Itami(the director) treats his topic. He shows in an ironic but somewhat serious way how food and its consumption is perceived in the Japanese society. He takes aim at the emphasis put on etiquette and the proper way of doing things, like eating noodles, but doesn't spare the "fetishization" of eating, a recurrent theme of many subplots.
The best part of Tanpopo is the acting. Watanabe (whose role is not big, despite being billed on top), Yamazaki and Yakusho, just to name a few, have had very solid careers including some international blockbusters. Here, too, they don't fail to deliver. The main downside is that the story is rather dull, and the cuts to other secondary plots feel like a distraction at times.
The main point of this movie is how Itami(the director) treats his topic. He shows in an ironic but somewhat serious way how food and its consumption is perceived in the Japanese society. He takes aim at the emphasis put on etiquette and the proper way of doing things, like eating noodles, but doesn't spare the "fetishization" of eating, a recurrent theme of many subplots.
The best part of Tanpopo is the acting. Watanabe (whose role is not big, despite being billed on top), Yamazaki and Yakusho, just to name a few, have had very solid careers including some international blockbusters. Here, too, they don't fail to deliver. The main downside is that the story is rather dull, and the cuts to other secondary plots feel like a distraction at times.