DEATH AND RAMEN review

Can a bowl of ramen hold more than just broth and noodles? In the short film by Tiger Ji, DEATH AND RAMEN, ramen itself could be the existential bridge between life and death. When life is teeming with humans dealing with pain, love, and just a lot of emotions while barreling steadily towards the unknown chasm of death, what could be the connecting factor to balance the everlasting cycle of existence? Within fifteen minutes, that answer may lie within a bowl.

Synopsis:

DEATH AND RAMEN stars Bobby Lee (MadTV, The Dictator) as Timmy, a ramen chef who has decided to end his life with the help of some Ambien pills. It seems to work as Death, played by Matt Jones (Breaking Bad), promptly appears and scoops up the body and proceeds to walk away with it. It just seems like an ordinary transition of life to death until Timmy spasms awake. He is still alive! While caught in this in-between state, Timmy pleads with Death for another bowl of ramen in order to take that next step forward.

Tiger Ji- The Director

Hong Kong Director Tiger Ji has been known for his short film WUHAN DRIVER where it won the Filmmaker of the Future Award at the Rhode Island International Film Festival.

We were able to an interview with Tiger to get to know him and this fantastic short:

Ramen

Ramen is the title character in the short. Have you ever heard the saying that “ramen is life”? After watching this short, ramen is truly life. One bowl of ramen may be made in different ways but it still contains the same general ingredients of noodles, meat, veggies, and broth in a bowl. A combination of simple ingredients, just like DNA itself. Remember back to your science classes of the building blocks of life: " adenine(A), thymine(T), cytosine (C), and guanine (G). Even so, we may all start with the same ingredients but everyone still goes through different experiences. Different cooks, different ramen bowls? Comparing ramen to life can be endless.

From the steaming bowl, a taste of the ramen can provoke or unlock buried emotions. It can help create a send of completeness or immediate pangs of nostalgia, bursts of love, and so much more. Or that one taste is powerful enough to trigger the willpower to look back and forgive.

At the most simplest level, ramen is so delicious, it makes you crave more. Crave more of that bowl of life!

Bobby Lee

So much deep reflection from analyzing the ramen. The actual main character of the short, Timmy, is the one who hones this divine bowl with his chef hands. We see during the short that he is incredibly passionate about his ramen. True to his chef nature, he is committed to not only the process but also of the end product. As Death takes that first bit and claims it divine, it seems to validate Timmy’s passion. What he loved is completely valid to be loved.

The completion of bowl of ramen is key for Timmy to proceed on. We see that as Timmy seems to be invigorated and energetic as he decides to do one more thing.

Shock, doubt, confidence, determination sweeps the audience as we watch Timmy. Showcasing this roller coaster of emotions is expressed to the maximum level by Bobby Lee. A showcase that is deeply riveting and engrossing as we have not seen this level of performance from Bobby Lee at all.

For those fans of the raucous sketch comedy show, MadTV, Bobby Lee is immediately recognizable as one of the final group of cast members of the show. Not only was he the only Asian actor on the show. He was also one of the only Asian comedians on TV that was genuinely, ridiculously funny. He was known to play Asian caricature characters to to a level beyond cringe and uncomfortable. There was the role of Asian man who spoke non-sense made up Asian languages and would always utter out the catch phrase, “Uh Oh Hotdog!” or the numerous parodies of stereotypes. His intensity and commitment to playing those sketches were brutally hilarious, grotesquely funny, and powerful since he owned those characters. It was as if he flipped the script and was really making fun of the audience for laughing in the first place. Bobby Lee was a trail-blazing for many Asian actors to forge forward in Hollywood roles that went beyond the background waiter or kung-fu guy.

With his fame and reputation in comedy, seeing Bobby Lee in a dark comedy is refreshingly shocking. DEATH AND RAMEN is the stunning glimpse of what Bobby Lee can do beyond the comedic scope. His talent for physical comedy and timing is solid but it’s during those dramatic scenes in the short that just clenches at the heart. It is true pain and heartache that we see. So by the end of the short, one cannot help but blink back tears.

Matt Jones

I must be one of the less than dozen people on this world that has not seen Breaking Bad so Matt Jones appearance as Death did elicit a jolt of recognition. His performance however was just delightful and I can understand why people are a fan of his. His humor and performance is much more subdued and subtle but no less funny. Matt Jone’s calm demeanor is sturdy rock within Bobby Lee’s energetic storm.

Matt Jones plays Death in such a way that is comforting and soothing. One could only hope in the apparently corporate system of grim reapers, one will be be paired with Jones to be guided in the afterlife.

Death

Every culture will have their own version or idea of death but all share the fear of just not knowing what or when it’s going to happen. For many, Death can be a very terrifying aspect at the end of life and the fear of is enough to sink a person into mental state of doom. For others, death is welcomed on their own terms. Whether one is ready for it not, Death will come.

In the short, the idea of Death was heavily influenced by the movie The Seventh Seal where Death is personified as a human playing chess with the one he will escort off. Death as a guide or an escort to the next phase is a common trope and one that brings comfort to many.

Death’s willingness to go with Timmy to make that final bowl of ramen soup is another story arc in itself. After ferrying so many souls, Death must want to experience that passion for one instant, even if that passion is briefly contained within that small bowl of life. Even for Death, the power of that bowl transcends him to a different planar level of empathy and experience of life.

Parting Thoughts

In another level of just how deep this short is, the audience itself is the unseen character in the short. As if we are omnipotent beings seeing the cycle of life in a blink of an eye. It’s hard not to appreciate life when the credits start rolling. It’s that feeling of optimism that lingers after the short and truly is a a treat from the short.

This was one of the most phenomenal short films seen to date. There is humor, pain, empathy, and absolute hope for life all packed into fifteen minutes.

Absolutely go seen this short if it is playing at your local film festival. Or you may truly regret letting this gem of a short go by.

It is currently entry in the upcoming Palm Springs Short Film Festival. For more information check out: https://www.psfilmfest.org/shortfest-2023/film-finder/death-and-ramen