Review of The Ramen Girl (2008) by Muffin M — 05 Aug 2011

Abruptly abandoned by her boyfriend, a young American woman suddenly finds herself adrift in Tokyo. Lost in the shuffle of a foreign culture, Abby consoles herself by hanging out in her neighbourhood ramen shop, a little restaurant renowned for its authentic noodle soup.

However as Abby is soon to discover, this is no ordinary restaurant. With each bowl that the chef serves, customers are mysteriously transformed and, after observing these magical effects, Abby is convinced that her true path in life is to become a ramen chef. She is determined to finally succeed at something and through sheer persistence, convinces the shop's tyrannical Japanese master chef to teach her the art of making ramen. But it is a journey fraught with drama, frustration and tears. That is, until the day Abby learns that the most important part of creating ramen, the most essential ingredient of all, must come from the heart.

Stars Brittany Murphy, Toshiyuki NIshida, Tammy Blanchard, Sohee Park, Kimiko Yo, Renji Ishibashi, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Gabriel Mann and Daniel Evans.

Directed by Robert Allan Ackerman.