Snippets of Stories

This was one weird movie. I enjoyed it.
   I loved that there was a main plot, but that there were also so many little streams breaking off of that plot and into other people's lives, for no apparent reason. The director literally had people run past the main characters and into a totally separate, mini story. Then we would come back to the main plot again.
      The scenes at the restaurant are especially memorable for me. We got to see these six or so men, obviously in some sort of business meeting, (though we never find out what kind of business, but it doesn't matter) ordering food. We can tell that they're all very formal and try suck up to the boss, except for the clumsy newbe; and this is all portrayed in one scene at a restaurant where the only words we hear them speak are their orders of food! (Brilliant) Then the camera follows the men's waiter to a separate customer who is eating spaghetti. What a transition! We don't even know it's a transition until we realize that we have now been observing a fancy how-to-eat class for young ladies for the last few minutes, and have just about forgotten the men in the business meeting. It flows right from the first scene to the second, so naturally. Brilliant.
    It's pretty cool to know that this is how life really is. There are all these strangers around us, and stories are happening in their lives on the same day that things are happening in our lives; and our stories intersect for a minute or less; and we never find out the rest of their story. The director of Tampopo showed us what some snippets of those stories might be; and we just enjoy it.