Tampopo (1985)

Juzo Itami's 1985 Japanese noodle comedy borrows the shape of a Western: a pair of truck drivers ride into town and help a widow turn her shabby ramen shop into the best around. Food does most of the talking, with slurping lessons, kitchen training montages and side sketches about eating that drift in and out of the main story. If you love cooking shows, you will follow every scene, and the vignette structure means a missed line never costs you the plot. A couple of the side stories are frankly sensual, so it is better for grown-up company than for family night.