About the film
- Directed by
- Robert Allan Ackerman
- Released
- February 8, 2008
- Certification
- PG-13
- Country
- Japan, United States of America
- Starring
- Brittany Murphy, Tammy Blanchard, Gabriel Mann, Toshiyuki Nishida, Soji Arai
More credits
- Language
- Japanese, English
- Origin
- US
- Studios
- Media 8 Entertainment
- Written by
- Becca Topol
- Produced by
- Michael Eliasberg, Robert Allan Ackerman, Yoko Narahashi, Cleve Landsberg, Kimio Kataoka, Brittany Murphy, Masafumi Odawara, Stewart Hall
- Cinematography
- Yoshitaka Sakamoto
- Music
- Carlo Siliotto
- Also starring
- Kimiko Yo, Renji Ishibashi, Akiko Monou, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Takaki Uda
- Budget
- $3,200,000
- Box office
- $179,590
Brittany Murphy told her director she had only ever been hired to play cute or crazy. She doubted she could do anything else. So they established a private code.
He would call out "C1" when she drifted toward cute, "C2" when she tipped into crazy. With this secret language director Robert Allan Ackerman steered her, take by take, toward something that nobody had ever asked of her.
In THE RAMEN GIRL (2008), Murphy plays Abby, an American who follows her boyfriend to Tokyo and is promptly abandoned there, alone in a city whose language she cannot speak.
She wanders into a neighborhood ramen shop, drowns her sorrows in a bowl of soup, and decides on the spot that she will learn to make ramen. The gruff restaurant owner wants nothing to do with her. Neither understands a word the other says.
The film is sweet and earnest, about a woman flailing toward a purpose that everyone, including herself, doubts she can reach.
This was one of the last films Brittany Murphy finished. She died in December 2009, at 32.
--
Co-produced by independent studio Media 8 Entertainment and Japan's Digital Site Corporation. Warner Bros. handled its initial theatrical and physical release in Japan, while Image Entertainment managed its distribution in the United States, where it bypassed a wide theatrical run and went straight-to-DVD.
How to see The Ramen Girl (2008)
Streaming
United States
Free
Also available internationally
Stream
Stream
With Ads
Stream
Stream
Stream
Stream
Stream
Stream
Stream
Stream
Rent
Buy
Stream
Stream
Stream
Stream
Stream
Stream
Source: JustWatch
Physical media
Movies they don’t want you to see
Related movies only streaming in other territories
Movies we wrote about
20 commentsHouse (1977)
Kamikaze Girls (2004)
3 commentsWaitress (2007)
7 commentsTrouble Every Day (2001)
10 commentsBut I'm a Cheerleader (2000)
Nezura 1964 (2020)
Films scored for your taste
We have to talk…
Godzilla Minus Zero (2026)Not quite as good as the first, but the best monster mash Godzilla movie for sure.
Capturing Bigfoot (2026)Honestly one of the best documentaries I've seen. That sounds like hyperbole, but it was a…
Doppelgänger (1969)One of the best!
The Social Reckoning (2026)A little preachy and sanctimonious - maybe. But I wonder if that's just the climate we're…
Death Race 2000 (1975)Saw this first run at a local drive-in and loved it. Still do. Still love the…
Man Bites Dog (1992)Rented this vhs in college a couple times. Hilarious and a good way to practice your…
Pandora's Box (1929)Great movie! 🌻
The Devil Rides Out (1968)Brilliant movie!!! "The Goat of Mendes! The Devil Himself!"
Three Colors: Red (1994)I can’t believe it came out 32 years ago! The wonderful, talented cinematographer Piotr Sobociński also…
Moontrap (1989)Worth the watch
Velvet Goldmine (1998)Mark Sebastian Jordan Bowie also produced all of Transformer.
Zeta One (1969)Malcolm
This was my favorite movie when I was young. And one of my top 3 favorite Brittnay Murphy movies ever
It’s a really good movie
I miss Brittany
Oooh, I had never heard of this film before. It sounds like a great movie to put as a double feature with Pieces of April 🧐🤓 I love the movies that are hidden gems 📼
This is one of my favorite feel good films
Ramen Girl is one of my favorite movies. Brittany was so good in this.
Its so unfair – she was really starting to find her career and take off
Ramen Girl was really endearing <3
Ramen Girl was amazing and I miss her
This film was truly incredible. I mean, it was so good. I blame her husband. She never should have married him. He kept her from being treated, it was all him. He even caught pneumonia and passed away, because he didn’t go see a doctor. A perfectly treatable illness and his craziness is what took them both out. My heart breaks for her. He isolated her, hose her projects and insisted on doing her hair and makeup on all the movies she was going. He controlled everything and the evidence and proof of this is the victims he had left in his wake. They managed to survive, but barely. Britney may be gone, but she will never be forgotten
This is my favorite movie with Brittany Murphy in it. Have watched it many times.
One of my favorite films.
I love that movie and only found out about her death after seeing it. Felt absolutely gutted. She was so gifted imho
Great movie. Also, I had a dream that was like this movie before I saw the movie.
I loved this movie
Michael Kizer we should watch this
This movie is random af but I like it. It’s a really good movie to have on in the background. Love Brittany Murphy!
I loveeeeee this movie !!!!
Love this movie
I loved this movie ❤️
This was a good movie too. I’d forgotten about it. I thought she was an amazing actress.
I’m convinced that every entrepreneur should watch this movie. It portrays nuances in cultural differences. Yes Japanese vs American culture, but with Ramen preparation as an art specifically… He’s trying to impart his wisdom and skill to her because she specifically asked him to and he tells her to keep the bathroom and the kitchen clean… He tries to teach her to notice smells and textures and she keeps oversimplifying the process of making Ramen. At the end she fails to be his successor of his shop, but when she comes back to the US, she’s Ramen Girl with her own shop.
No you didn’t! 🤣
She could have been one of the greatest actresses of her generation, I believe, had she survived.
Ruth Arnette looks great
Was an amazing movie and I’m sad it took me so long to find it.
This is one of my absolute favorite movies!! I am a bit sad though that every version that I’ve found since I first saw it, including my DVD copy, has the TV censored version where they dubbed over certain words so it no longer matches the lips. Which is a very weird choice for a DVD. It makes me question if the DVD that I have is authentic. Does anyone have a DVD copy that is uncensored? I fear the uncensored version may become lost media otherwise since it wasn’t a popular movie when it came out. 😢
This was a cute movie