Tampopo

In the late 1980s modern Japanese films seldom (almost never) turned up in Norwegian cinemas. The surprise was therefore great when director Itami Juzo’s film Tampopo was shown in Oslo. It is a comedy but has many subplots where food and sex have great importance. At the same time, it has a satiric gaze at Western influence on modern Japanese society.

The cinematography and the method of the storytelling were very advanced for its time, for example in how the film’s different stories segued into each other and the fact that the actors sometimes addressed the audience. I am totally convinced that it will be exciting to see it again and that the film is equally good today.

Chosen by Philip Øgaard