The Ramen Girl is a movie from 2008 starring Britney Murphy. It's part of the reason I started this blog. The way Ramen is presented, can lead one to believe it's magic or even contains healing properties.
Brittney Murphy plays Abby, an American who has followed her boyfriend to Japan. She has a seemingly good job at a local law firm. Suddenly her boyfriend must move to Osaka for work and breaks up with Abby. She is depressed and feeling more out of place in a foreign country with no friends. She stumbles across a Ramen shop, where the owners feel sorry for her and offer her soup even though they are closed. The soup seems to be the only thing that can cheer Abby up.
The movie hints to the fact that the emotion of the chef can be passed down trough the food to the consumer. When the chef is laughing in a good mood, then all the customers are laughing. When Abby begins to cook ramen, there is pain in her heart, the customers eat her soup and start crying. Is this really the case? Then a Ramen shop's reputation is based on the chefs skill and emotion. The more love and comfort poured into a bowl, the better the Ramen? This seems more like a good story line and nothing else. Ramen in Japan is considered a comfort food, something requiring skill to make but also needing to be consumed in a warm stress free environment.
Abby begins to train to become a Ramen Master. She is learning to make Shoyu Ramen. This is a classic soy sauce-based noodle soup. The main base of the soup is the long-simmered, complex, and robust broth. The movie is vague about what specfic Ramen is being served. It emphasizes the philosophy and dedication needed to make the soup.
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