Episode 257: TAMPOPO (1985)

Juzo Itami’s “ramen western” TAMPOPO is… just a delight. The lines that separate class, sex, and generations are broken through the lens of food in vignettes that surround a sweet, satisfying A plot. The mundane and universal is elevated to indulgence through the presumption of taboo, with each character’s indulgence – a meddling supermarket crone, a wealthy, browbeaten elder, a gangster’s hedonist escape – building them as more human than caricature. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Closing music: "Sonata for Bassoon and Cello in B-Flat Major, K. 292-196c - III. Rondo (Allegro)" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart from the TAMPOPO soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 257: TAMPOPO (1985) 4:01 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 13:26 - The vignettes 21:45 - A movie about indulgence 27:17 - The silly and the serious living together 32:31 - The gangster subplot and life as a short film you watch at death 45:12 - Treating everything with respect, whether silly or profane or deadly serious 48:29 - The birth of the “ramen western” 53:44 - The Junk Drawer 57:41 - Other Loves We’ve Tried: 1985 59:47 - Good Grief, Give Me a GIF!