The 10 best food movies you have probably never heard of

From a Mexican period drama that explores gender through magical realism, to an out-and-out Hong Kong comedy, food has been used as a metaphor and backdrop in many films. We curate a list of lesser-known international food films, that are visual treats for food and cinema lovers.

A truck driver walks into a roadside ramen shop. While it sounds like the setup for a joke, it is actually the premise of the 1985 Japanese cult classic, Tampopo. To save a struggling business, the protagonist joins forces with the owner’s daughter as they master the art of noodle making. Starring a young Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai and Inception), this comedy is affectionately dubbed a ramen western, a play on the spaghetti western genre. It earned a perfect four-out-of-four star rating from critic Roger Ebert.