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December 21, 2009

The Ramen Girl

Robert Allan Ackerman - 2008
Image Region 1 DVD

I happened to watch The Ramen Girl on Saturday night. My excuse was primarily to see Kimiko Yo, who charmed me in Departures. In the film, she plays the wife of the chef who teaches Brittany Murphy who to cook ramen. To have seen a film one day, and read about the death of the star the next evening is disturbing.

I wasn't planning to write about the film because it's not the kind of film I would normally write about, and because, critically speaking, there are a few aspects about the film that don't work for me. The Ramen Girl is frankly a westerner's Oriental fantasy. There also a few gaps of logic, such as how Murphy's character could afford to stay in what seemed like an exceptionally large apartment when she was not making much money. On the other hand, if you don't have cable, and you don't feel like watching a film that requires simultaneous critical thinking, you could do worse than The Ramen Girl. It's not up there with Tampopo, or Like Water for Chocolate either on the level of filmmaking or the food, but consider it the equivalent of a lightly enjoyable snack between the heavier meals.

And if you decide to check out The Ramen Girl, it does have a Christmas scene that might be a little more poignant at this time.

Goodbye, Brittany. This one hurts. 32 is too fucking young.

Posted by Peter Nellhaus at December 21, 2009 12:12 AM