The Ramen Girl (2009)

Movie Info (From Rotten Tomatoes)

Abandoned by her boyfriend after following him to Tokyo, an American slacker adrift in a foreign culture witnesses the healing power of food and determines to become a ramen chef. When Abby (Brittany Murphy) arrived in Tokyo, she assumed she was starting a new life with her boyfriend. But that future fades when Abby's boyfriend disappears, leaving her to fend for herself in a city she doesn't understand. In desperate need of a little consolation, the floundering American begins frequenting her neighborhood ramen shop. She feels comfortable there, and recognizes how happy food can make people by the radiant smiles on the customer's faces. Convinced that her true calling is to become a ramen chef, Abby eventually persuades the restaurant's temperamental, tyrannical Japanese chef to become her mentor in the art of making ramen. Though at first their relationship is almost unbearably contentious, the master and his student eventually find a common ground when Abby realizes that the secret ingredient to true ramen is a universe of feeling. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Directed By: Robert Allan Ackerman
Written By: Becca Topol

When I was feeling under the weather this morning I decided to watch THE RAMEN GIRL.  I have been wanting to watch this since five(5) years ago, the year Brittany Murphy died, but for some reason, I was only able to see this now.

 The movie has all the ingredients of a movie I hold dear.  The Japanese Culture, Brittany, and the art of making Ramen, but the movie I watched didn't have subtitles for the Japanese dialogues.  I sort of understand Japanese, but Maezumi(西田 敏行 Nishida Toshiyuki) and all the other Japanese actors were speaking too fast for me, except for Maezumi's mother who told Abby to use her pain, since she didn't know the real concept of love, to be able to make good ramen.

In a way, without intending to, I walked in Abby's shoes.  Her sensei was my sensei too.  Little by little, without totally understanding everything, I understood the message that Maezumi wanted to convey.  He gave his word and he was sad because he had to fulfill what he said, but he was glad to be able to pass on the trade to her.  Am I giving the story away too much? 

This movie, in a way, reminded me of the original Karate Kid series starring Pat Morita and Ralph Macchio. Eventually, Daniel learned the craft and took it to heart.

What did I like better? The Karate Kid, of course, but I liked this one too.

It made me feel a little better.

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The Ramen Museum where Toshi and Abby went to

Sometimes the reason we reach a destination or go to an event or whatever else just become the bridges of our TRUE PURPOSE of why we're there in the first place. Sometimes outr exes lead us to our one true love...something like that.-Lara Mia Veronica M. Garcia, August 3, 1997 

Brittany Murphy as Abby, the future Ramen Girl

Toshiyuki Nishida as Maezumi, Abby's Sensei, and the ramen chef

Sohee Park a.k.a. Soji Arai as Toshi Iwamoto, Abby's friend then lover

Daniel Evans as Charlie, Abby's British friend

Tammy Blanchard as Gretchen, Abby's friend who thinks Japan is unfair to her

Kimiko Yo as Reiko, Maezumi's wife who is fond of Abby

Tsutomu Yamazaki as the sleepy Grand Master

Renji Ishibashi as Udagawa

Gabriel Mann as Ethan, Abby's boyfriend (the reason why she went to Tokyo in the first place)

Masayoshi Haneda as Yuki

and

Hisako Okata as Maezumi's mother