Salsucha: A Gritty Little Story About Noodle Shops and Street Sweepers

Is it worth your time?

If you like movies that feel like they were filmed in someone's actual neighborhood rather than a sterile studio backlot, you might dig Salsucha. It’s got a rough-around-the-edges vibe that makes it charming, but it’s definitely not for anyone who needs high-octane polish or a massive budget. If you hate slow-burn character stuff, skip it. Everyone else? Give it a shot.

The whole thing starts off so normal it’s almost boring. Seong-chun just drives his cleaning truck around, doing his thing. The cinematography here is surprisingly grainy, like they shot it on a camera that had seen better days. Honestly? I kind of loved that.

Then there’s the noodle shop. It’s cramped, smells like broth through the screen, and feels lived-in. When the gangsters show up, the tension is weirdly low-stakes, but the way Seong-chun reacts is great. He doesn't go all superhero; he just acts like a guy who is tired of being pushed around.

Odd Little Moments

• There is a scene in the kitchen where the clattering of bowls is way louder than the dialogue. It’s distracting, but weirdly immersive.
• The main gangster has this twitchy eye thing he does when he’s mad. I can’t tell if the actor is doing it on purpose or if he just had an eyelash stuck.
• The street cleaning vehicle is the real star of the first ten minutes. It makes a clanking noise that sounds like it’s about to fall apart.

It’s funny, I couldn't help but compare the feeling here to Fury. Both films deal with regular people getting dragged into messes they didn't start, though obviously, the scale is completely different. One is a war zone, the other is just a street corner with some bad attitudes.

The movie does this thing where it lingers on Seong-chun’s face while he’s eating. Just chewing. It goes on for like fifteen seconds too long. It’s not profound, it’s just... human. 🍜

The action beats are clunky. There’s no fancy editing to hide the fact that nobody here is a professional stunt person. People trip, they swing wild punches, and it looks like a real bar fight instead of a dance routine. It’s messy. I like messy.

Some parts feel like they were just tacked on to fill the runtime. The subplots about the gangsters' internal politics? Totally disposable. I found myself checking my phone during those bits, which is a bad sign, but the second the camera goes back to the noodle shop, I was locked back in.

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s not going to win awards. But it feels like it was made by people who actually care about the characters, and in a world of soulless content, that’s plenty for me.