Half documentary, half food porn, Ramen Heads is a film that mostly follows the story of “king of ramen” Osamu Tomita. We get a glimpse into his daily life, his philosophies and his meticulous attention to his craft. You might think of ramen as a simple bowl of noodles, but after this documentary, you will look at it very differently. A perfect bowl, you will find, requires dedication, creativity and attention to detail that you would never imagine. Tomita is a great representation of what it takes to be a great ramen chef and the film documents that with great detail (and also the director scored a few bowls of ramen, which is an inherent benefit)
Also embedded within this movie is the story of ramen as well as gorgeous shots of many bowls of ramen, from many different restaurants, all of which I want to now eat at.
Go to this movie, and then go eat some ramen after.
Thu, May 4 @ 5:45 PM Scotiabank Theatre 13
Fri, May 5 @ 10:15 AM TIFF Bell Lightbox 3
Sat, May 6 @ 10:45 AM TIFF Bell Lightbox 2
Sun, May 7 @ 12:00 PM Hart House Theatre
UPDATE!
On a sunny Wednesday afternoon, we were invited to actually experience the ramen that made Osamu Tomita famous. As part of a promotional event for Tokyo docs, Osamu Tomita showed up at Momofuku and proceeded to tell us not only what’s in his broth (a host of animals and vegetables) but also, cook a small sample of it.
Having taste the ramen, it is something else. It’s so hard to define the taste of the broth. There is a certain level of complexity it achieves by incorporating so many animals into it. Not quite pork, not quite seafood but a mismatch of both, the broth and the amazing noodles made for a great combination. Let me tell you, that was legit. I left with a dumb smile on my face and that’s a great sign of great food.