Tampopo (1985)
IMDb meta-data is runtime of 1h and 54m, rated 7.9 by 23,001 cinematizens.
Genre: Parody.
DNA: Japan.
Verdict: More!
Tagline: A Noodle Eastern.
A square-jawed stranger rides into town and when he enters the saloon the crowd of idlers goes quiet. So opens the Spaghetti Western.
Well, sorta. The stranger is driving a tanker truck, and the saloon is a ramen bar on the outskirts of Tokyo. In what follows are fist fights, espionage, Rocky training, and more as the stranger searches for the perfect ramen through an encyclopaedia of oater movie tropes. A team is assembled and the quest proceeds.
***
The momentum is hampered by interludes about love and food, some of which are odd and others incomprehensible, including a very tedious start. None add to the main theme. Cutting them would reduce the film by 30+ minutes. But the red line (as they used to say in Moscow) is clear and it rattles along.
I saw this long ago at Sydney Film Festival on its first release.