Detail, Sublime Grave Dweller Shinko, 2004, Chiho Aoshima, chromogenic print(30 x 118 inches). Courtesy of Blum & Poe, Los Angeles / Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris & Miami ©2004 Chiho Aoshima/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
In Itami Juzo's cult "noodle Western" Tampopo, there is a wonderful scene where an old man expounds his views on the art of eating ramen. First, one must contemplate the contents of the bowl: the beads of fat glistening across the soup's surface, the noodles nestled below, three succulent slices of braise pork next to small piles of chopped scallion and shinachiku, or preserved baby bamboo. After solemnly inhaling the rising steam you may finally take up your chopsticks. But before plunging in one must pause to gently pat the soup and noodles in a gesture of affection and gratitude.
The film's title refers to its heroine, a frumpy middle-aged widow struggling with a run-down noodle joint. The place is a dump and quite frankly so are her noodles. Through circumstances she is adopted by five men who initiate her to the ramen universe -- the silence and economy of movements behind the counter, secrets to preparing the soup, the science of making noodles. In addition her shop is redesigned and Tampopo herself is given a makeover.
At the final test tasting, Tampopo anxiously watches the men slurp away at their bowls (making noise is obligatory when eating any type of noodles in Japan.) Simultaneously, all five lift up their bowls to gulp down the soup to its last drop, then put them down with a deep collective sigh. It is a transcendental moment and a ray of divine light shines into the shop.
Ramen is never just a bowl of noodles; rather it represents a whole worldview. So when that gets unceremoniously dumped on the head of one of Chiho Aoshima's hapless, cute-sexy waifs, it raises some interesting questions...
"Banquet: A Feast for the Senses" opens next Friday.
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