The best Nobuko Miyamoto’s comedy movies
If you love cinema, you will share this ranking of the best Nobuko Miyamoto’s movies, although you may have ordered them differently. In any case, we hope you love it and with a little luck discovering a movie that you still don’t know about Nobuko Miyamoto.
Tampopo
7.9/10
A pair of truck drivers happen onto a decrepit roadside fast food stop selling ramen noodles. The widowed owner, Tampopo, begs them to help her turn her establishment into a paragon of the "art of noodle soup making".
A Taxing Woman
7.2/10
Ryoko Itakura is a government tax agent who has just landed a big promotion. Her first assignment is to catch wheeler-dealer Hideki Gondo. She has a tough job, since in Japan tax evasion is an art and Gondo is, in effect, Rembrandt.
Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald
7.7/10
A radio play is minutes away from airing at a Tokyo radio station. It is a weepy melodrama written by housewife Miyako, the winner of a competition run by the station. Suddenly, the hot-tempered lead actress Nokko decides she wants the name of her character to be Mary Jane and not Ritsuko. This leads to a chain of events which, live on-air, changes the play completely, taking it from an autobiographical fishing village romance to an ersatz American gangster drama cum disaster epic.
Tales of a Golden Geisha
6.4/10
The film stars two of Itami's regular actors, Nobuko Miyamoto as a geisha who brings luck to the men with whom she sleeps, and Masahiko Tsugawa as her unfaithful, sometimes partner. As well as showing her relationships with the man she loves and the men who employ her, it satirizes corruption and the influence of money in Japanese politics.
Minbo: the Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion
7.4/10
A grand old Japanese hotel is trying to get a prestigious contract as the site of a summit meeting of important foreign officials. Unfortunately, this hotel is quite popular with the Yakuza (Japanese gangsters) and is a favorite target of theirs for extortion. They employ a variety of schemes to con the hotel out of 'hush-money.' The hotel needs to rid itself of the Yakuza and finally begins to fight back by hiring Mahiru Inoue, a lawyer who is an expert at dealing with these criminals on their own terms. This film by Juzo Itami combines action with farce, as an all-out war ensues.
The Funeral
7.2/10
At the beginning of the film the father-in-law of the protagonist dies unexpectedly of a heart attack. The remainder of the film is episodic, moving from one incident to another over the course of the three-day funeral, which is held (as is customary) in the home. These incidents contrast old ways and new ways, young and old, ritual ceremony and true feelings, often comically, but sometimes with real poignancy.
Woman in Witness Protection
7.2/10
Biwako, a star actress, is the sole witness to a grizzly murder. After the cops persuade her to play the bait to catch the killers, two veteran detectives are assigned to protect her at all times. However, this also means that Biwako's new guardians have no choice but to deal with the overly-dramatic, hilarious, and sometimes harrowing ups and downs of her life.
A Taxing Woman's Return
6.7/10
Ryoko Itakura returns as the government tax agent willing to tackle the toughest cases. This time she takes on a fanatical but lucrative religious cult run by a vile lecher.
Supermarket Woman
7.3/10
Goro's supermarket is not doing well; the rival "Bargains Galore" threatens his business. A chance encounter with Hanako, an energetic woman he knew in grade school, results in big retail and life changes.
Fancy Dance
6.8/10
Yohei, a punk rocker, becomes a Buddhist monk in order to inherit a mountain temple. Though initially rebelling against the tough monastic discipline, he learns to adjust. Then his girlfriend shows up, enticing him to return to his rock 'n' roll roots.
Tora-san's Shattered Romance
6.7/10
Torajiro becomes homesick during his travels after watching a television report about his hometown and meeting a young woman that reminds him of his sister Sakura. Meanwhile, a new tenant moves into Toraya restaurant.
Scrap Collectors
5.3/10
Based on a story by Akiyuki Nosaka.
