RAMEN SHOP
In this delicate family drama, a young Japanese ramen chef follows his heart and his stomach to his late mother’s hometown, hoping to uncover the truth about his family’s history.
For over 20 years, Singaporean auteur Eric Khoo has been exploring his country’s culture and past. Now, to mark fifty years of international relations between Singapore and Japan, Khoo has crafted a film that personalizes the two countries’ difficult political past into a touching melodrama. For years, Masato (Takumi Saito) has worked alongside his distant, taciturn father in the family’s ramen restaurant in eastern Japan. After his father dies unexpectedly, a hidden journal belonging to his Singapore-born mother, who passed away when he was ten, inspires Masato to travel to her homeland to learn about the mysterious origins of his parent’s relationship. With the help of a Japanese expat food blogger, he begins to unlock his family history and culinary heritage, as both secrets and recipes are revealed. Filmed in lush, delectable close-ups, each dish—chicken rice, fish-head curry, bak kut teh and more—brings Masato closer to understanding the importance of family and tradition in this moving drama of love, forgiveness, and the joys of a home cooked meal. Be prepared to leave the theater with a tear in your eye and a rumble in your belly.
CAST: Takumi Saito, Jeanette Aw, Mark Lee, Beatrice Chien
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