Juzo Itami’s rapturous cult foodie-comedy returns to American screens for the first time in decades, in a new digital restoration.

Affectionately referred to as a “ramen western,” it stars Tsutomu Yamazaki as a cowboy hat-adorned truck driver who pulls into town with his sidekick (Ken Watanabe) and comes to the aid of a lone woman (Nobuko Miyamoto) struggling with a little noodle restaurant. Her name is Tampopo (literally ‘Dandelion’), and her platonic friendship with the noble, Shane-like savior is alternated with humorous digressions, including the story of a gastronome gangster and moll who together explore the erotic nature of food. It’s sweet, sexy, surreal…and mouthwatering. In Japanese with English subtitles. Writer/Director: Juzo Itami. (Japan 1985) 115 min.