~•~

“Tampopo”?  Nope, I have not.  Did read a few reviews, though, and it looks interesting.  I’ll look around for it, A, … and let you know how it went.  The director, Itami, called it a "noodle western" or a “gastronomic noodle western” depending on who says so.   

~~ heh, hey Reg, would that it be plagiarism?  [? noodle western = spaghetti western ?] 

Trivia (from IMDb, I think) 

Itami was attacked by Yakuza in 1992 due to the release of Minbo no onna (1992), which portrayed Yakuza in a bad light. He was slashed around the face and neck and was hospitalized.  On December 20, 1997, the 64-year-old Itami was found seriously injured on the street below his office and later died in the hospital. A suicide note was left behind by Itami that expressed innocence to a tabloid's accusation of his infidelity with a younger woman.