This movie was recommended by the sushi chef at my favorite local Japanese restaurant. The story moved along quickly and is cute - almost to the point of the movie being in the "chick flick" genre.
Of special interest to me was this: I purchased at the same time the movie The Ramen Girl. It was filmed 24 years after Tampopo, yet has in it one of the Tampopo actors. Tsutomu Yamazaki plays truck driver Goro in Tampopo and later, plays the Ramen Grand Master in Ramen Girl.
This coincidence helped raise the level of "cuteness" in these two "chick flicks" for me, a very old man, and added to my pleasure in watching them both.
One of the best "foodie" films ever. The story plays out like a western, with a charming heroine in distress and a man in black coming to her rescue. It is however, a hysterical comedy, punctuated by non-sequitur vignettes about human passion for food.
Forget about your low-carb diet and enjoy!!