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Stream The Ramen Girl Movie Online.
Movie Title: The Ramen Girl The Ramen Girl is available for streaming or downloading. |
COMING OF AGE IN TOKYO five stars
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Having grown up in Japan and America, I really felt this movie captured the cultural differences between the two countries with humor, intelligence and charm while still making its points pro and con for both. I don’t agree with the comparison to LOST IN TRANSLATION at all. That movie was about alienation. The main characters could have met on the moon. There was almost nothing in that film that reflected the Japanese culture. I don’t think it was trying to. In fact several Japanese friends and myself found it rather offensive to Japanese people. The Ramen Girl more specifically portrays being a foreigner alone in Japan. There are many fully developed Japanese characters and situations. The central plot could only ever happen in Japan. This is more of a coming of age movie. What is lovely about it is that it suggests that it’s possible to actually find oneself and grow outside of one’s home culture and then to bring what has been learned back home and lead a richer life. Abby, the central character, is sort of a lost soul. Finding herself abandoned in Japan, she is literally and charmingly, through several magical events, drawn into the culture of cooking ramen. Her scenes with her teacher are often hilarious as he doesn’t speak a word of English and she doesn’t speak a word of Japanese. What transpires would appear to be typical but it’s not. Nothing plays out just as one would expect it to. Her efforts are actually quite inspirational, although not always triumphant. All of the performances are first rate. Brittany Murphy has never been better and all of the Japanese cast are excellent. This movie was very well received in Japan. Journalists and movie goers were really surprised that it was written and directed by Americans. They clearly understood the culture they were making their film about. I think it’s great that this movie is finally available to an American audience on DVD. It’s really kind of irresistible. It’s also great to see a movie now that has such a positive point of view and leaves you feeling so good.
This movie owes its inspiration to Tampopo, the critically acclaimed, gently quirky Japanese film about a female mastering the masculine art of ramen noodle soup making. Brittany Murphy is really quite good as a rudderless 20-something American abandoned in Toyko by her boyfriend. She happens upon a ramen shop and is inspired to master the art of making the perfect Ramen soup. There is a lot of attention to detail in set design and costume, although Ms. Murphy’s shoes are probably not what kitchen help would really wear to put in a 12-hour day.
The Ramen Girl has some subtitles due to its authentic Japanese cast which lend the feel of an art house flick. Another nice touch is a soup making competition in which actor Tsutomu Yamazaki, who was the truck driving mentor in Tampopo, turns in a comic turn as the judge of the soup making competition. I believe this movie has enough charm to appeal to a wide range of viewers and if you really like it, hey, check out Tampopo as well.
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