Death & Ramen
2023 · 14m · USA
Directed by Tiger Ji
Genres: dark comedy, drama
Tones: absurdist, melancholic
On his final night alive, a suicidal ramen chef (Bobby Lee) swallows a bottle of Ambien and fixes himself a last bowl of kimchi ramen — only for the Grim Reaper to show up, turning the evening into an unexpected philosophical odyssey about life, death, and noodles.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Bobby Lee plays a suicidal ramen chef meeting the Grim Reaper — Seventh Seal via late-night noodles is a riff I'd actually watch. Sold by the casting alone.
A Bergman Seventh-Seal riff filtered through late-night ramen with Bobby Lee opposite Death — Tiger Ji is openly mortgaging the comparison but the lens of comfort food gives it permission. Knowingly derivative, charmingly so.
Fourteen minutes riffing on The Seventh Seal through a late-night comfort-food lens with Bobby Lee carrying the lead — 1.5M views suggests the tonal mix lands for an audience that knows Lee's MADtv/Tigerbelly persona. The high-concept logline does most of the work.
Reviews
It's not easy to create a film that opens with a suicide attempt that makes you laugh and hanker for ramen in equal measure, but Tiger has done exactly that and Death & Ramen manages to celebrate life from this final vantage point with sincere heartfelt comedy, revitalising the familiar trope of an appointment with Death with aplomb.
Known mostly for comedic roles, Lee gets the opportunity to showcase his dramatic chops, and he does not disappoint, perfectly nailing the tone of Ji's screenplay, from the lighter moments to the darkest ones.
Festivals
- Palm Springs International ShortFest 2023, Nominated Best Comedy
- Tallgrass Film Festival 2023, Best Narrative Short