The Ramen Girl (2008)

An American woman is stranded in Tokyo after breaking up with her boyfriend. Searching for direction in life, she trains to be a râmen chef under a tyrannical Japanese master.

Director:

Robert Allan Ackerman

Writer:

Becca Topol (screenplay)

Stars:

Brittany Murphy, Toshiyuki Nishida, Sohee Park

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brittany Murphy	...	Abby
Toshiyuki Nishida	...	Maezumi
Sohee Park	...	Toshi Iwamoto
Kimiko Yo	...	Reiko
Daniel Evans	...	Charlie
Renji Ishibashi	...	Udagawa
Gabriel Mann	...	Ethan
Tammy Blanchard	...	Gretchan
Daigo Tanji	...	Taxi Driver
Thane Camus	...	Wilson
Hako Ueno	...	Hanako
Masayuki Maekawa	...	Vendor
Yûya Ogawa	...	College Student (as Yuya Ogawa)
Tomoyuki Kuramoto	...	College Student
Yuta	...	Young Man at the Shrine

Storyline

Abby, four years out of college, an aimless child of privilege, comes to Tokyo to be with her boyfriend, who promptly leaves for Osaka. She wants to stay in Tokyo in hopes he'll come back to her, but she's miserable: she speaks little Japanese and has a dull job as a law-firm gopher. She stumbles into the neighborhood ramen shop operated by the aging master chef Maezumi and his wife Reiko. His soup cheers Abby, so she decides to apprentice herself to him. He's uninterested, she's insistent, so he shouts at her and gives her all the cleaning to do. Weeks go by; she's persistent. Will he ever actually teach her to cook? And if he does, will she bring the requisite spirit to the job?

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Plot Keywords:

master | japanese | chef | ramen | stranded | 

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Taglines:

Her romance is on pins and noodles.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [jp]

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

Japanese English

Release Date:

23 October 2008 (Russia)

Also Known As:

Könnyes leves

Filming Locations:

Jacksonville, Florida, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Media 8 Entertainment, Digital Site Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min 122 min (European Film Market)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Maezumi: I Know the problem. Your Forehead is too small. A small Forehead means a small brain. Like a monkey. You should be swinging from a tree screaming "kya kya kya".
Maezumi: If you just look at the ramen you'll feel it.
Maezumi: Stop thinking about words! Use your heart!

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Soundtracks

"Boukyou Shamisen"
Written by Haru Nakazato
Performed by Rumi Yamaguchi (as Rumi Yamagichi)
Courtesy of Teichiku Entertainment, Inc.
Courtesy of RF Music Publisher Inc.

User Reviews

A Creative and Fascinating Fusion of Japanese and American

Shot on location this drama is unique in that it attempts to portray a spoiled (rich) girl literally abandoned in Tokyo Japan and whose solace is found in learning to cook Ramen noodles from a grumpy and difficult Ramen cook. What makes this movie special is its heavy use of actual Japanese dialogue with subtitles and Brittany Murphy's character's actual very limited Japanese. What happens on screen is a rarely seen storyline where the main characters are relatively clueless as to what the other person is talking about. Somewhat like ENEMY MINE (1985), a sci fi movie where the protagonist and antagonist are aliens to each other, Brittany's character and her sensei (teacher) must bumble through somehow. There is also suggestive similarities to SIMPLY Irresistible (1999) where Sarah Michelle Gellar cooks up emotional dishes but without the literal magic in that movie. Unfortunately a few editing problems and storyline line flow are disrupted by the sometimes later collapse or confusion as to the English/Japanese language barrier (where there are a few scenes where it's confusing as to how much Japanese and English the characters understand, and also some underdeveloped backstories and follow-through on their emotionally satisfying resolution (the sensei's son for example). While played as a drama, it is somewhat light on the drama which in some ways misses the opportunity to play it even more straight and serious which may have enabled this movie to become an actual serious contender for an award. The ending also didn't seem to quite gel in some ways as the abrupt nature of the changes in Brittany's character's life seem somewhat sudden and inconsistent with how the movie seemed to be flowing.