Jiro is Jiro Ono who runs a small sushi restaurant in a Tokyo subway station. Now in his 80s', he has been plying his trade for 75 years and his small restaurant is renowned around the world having been given the coveted three star rating by Michelin. The movie is a profile of a man who is dedicated to his job or, perhaps more accurately, obsessed with his craft. But it's also food porn with a look at how the sushi many people consider to be the best in the world is made.
Interviews with Jiro, his sons, employees, and a Japanese food critic all emphasize that this man has a Calvinist work ethic. The guy dreads taking a day off and would probably be lost if he was unable to practice his craft. Reclining in a seat on a train, he holds court and opines that telling children that they can always return home if they cannot make it on their own is stupid and leads to failure. It sounds harsh but we find out that he came from a poor family and left home at age nine. As a boy he was told “Failure is not an option” and he has kept that as his motto ever since.
Jiro's sons have followed him into the trade with the youngest having opened a second location while the oldest remains at his father's side. With all the talk of Jiro dedicating his life to sushi and his own admission that he was not around much for his children, the viewer can't be faulted for thinking that his sons perhaps harbor some resentment towards their old man. This would seem especially true for the eldest, Yoshikazu, who stands in the shadow of a culinary legend. But as they get more screen time, that feeling is dispelled. They love their father and can laugh about their younger days. They accept that he is who he is and are grateful for what he's done for them.
The movie deftly interweaves Jiro's story with that of sushi. I found myself jealous of the sharp knives used in the kitchen as I watched seafood sliced very thinly over and over. There were some nice slow motion shots that had a Philip Glass score in the background which brought Errol Morris to mind. We follow Yoshikazu as he wanders through a fish market seeking out the best catch of the day and learn about the various grades of tuna. Jiro notes that octopus is best served warm and boasts that they massage theirs for 40-50 minutes instead of the normal 20. (I now have a new punishment for times when the youngest kid screws up. “Massage that octopus and don't stop until I tell you to!”) The chefs all talk lovingly of their ingredients with Yoshikazu rhapsodizing that every food has a unique moment of maximum deliciousness.
David Gelb not only directed but was also the cinematographer here. I loved how the interviews felt offhanded, often times more of a BS session than a formal questioning that will be shown to audiences. There was the odd jump cut and an abrupt pan to catch someone off-screen talking to add to the casual rapport between subjects and interviewer. I also really liked Gelb's use of a short lens in the scenes at the fish market. (Not quite fish eye but still very short.) The image was slightly distorted at time but it opened up the space between the cramped stalls. For scenes at the restaurant Gelb used short lenses but longer ones as well. It's a small space – only 10 seats booked months in advance – but Gelb shot those scenes in a way that opens up that space but also retained a sense of intimacy. It was as if we were in a craftsman's workshop instead of a place of business.
The editing also deserves mention. There are trays in front of the seats where each piece of sushi is placed and Gelb used shots of the food being set on them effectively. They show the tasty end product but are also often used to mark an end to a line of questioning. Gelb managed to find a rhythm with those shots of a piece of sushi delicately being placed on those trays.
Walking out of the theatre we joked that the sushi joints on State Street would be doing a brisk lunch business. Indeed, there was a line out the door of T. Sushi. Jiro Dreams of Sushi opens at Sundance on the 27th and no doubt Sushi Muramoto will also be crowded in the coming weeks.
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