Interesteg What makes it different from others?

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Patience Watson One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

sharky_55 Blink on your daily Japanese commute and you might miss Jiro Ono's Michelin three-star restaurant, Sukiyabashi Jiro. The modest ten- seater is tucked away underground near the Ginza subway station, and as a bumbling out-of-towner demonstrates, it is not so hard to mistake it for any ordinary sushi bar. In fact, with a month-long booking, fifteen minutes and a week's salary or so, you could be in and out of there during your lunch break. Jiro has never compromised his artistic integrity by expanding his trade or accommodating more customers for profit. Everything in his restaurant has its place and role, and like his courses there is no excess (he portions the food so that groups finish their meals at the same time). Director David Gelb talks about the meticulous setting in his commentary; he would move furniture around to accommodate his filming, to compose a better shot, and right on cue, Jiro would hustle over and return the piece to its rightful place. Great artists often immerse themselves so fully into their work that the person behind them disappears, and through biopics and documentaries like Jiro Dreams of Sushi, we are able to glimpse a little of what goes on behind the curtain. Jiro himself might disagree with this objective - he details how it is necessary to devote his entire life to his craft, fall in love with his work, dedicate all his time to mastery of the skill of sushi making. He must have a wife, although it is no coincidence that the film does not show her. Neither is Jiro shot in his home; he loathes holidays, preferring to continue working at the restaurant, and retirement would only bring about boredom. Sushi even invades his dreams, as the title discloses. Here is a man who has not an inkling of a personal life outside his work, and does not seem to be fazed by it. In the few scenes where he is out of the kitchen he almost withers and ages years, muted and made plain outside of his domain. Gelb, doubling also as the film's cinematographer, has taken to care to capture the intricacies of the artistry that goes into preparing Michelin three-star quality sushi. He utilises both slow and fast motion to portray the chefs in their kitchen, as gentle caressers of their ingredients and also efficient, precise workers. He gives us the foodie shots - salmon like glistening gems on smooth lacquer trays - but also understands that food arouses senses other than sight, and includes the sound of sizzles and visualises the steam which reveals how even their rice must be cooked to perfection. When Gelb does indulge in those glossy, magazine-quality shots in shallow-focus, he includes simple titles that present the food as if the screen was a visual menu, and we are about to order. A rhythmic track of drums and ringing bells brings to life the fish market and the chaos surrounding bidding for the best produce. In the kitchen, the soundtrack attempts to elevate the craft of sushi beyond Jiro's modest restaurant - they cook to Bach, to Tchaikovsky, to Philip Glass. But the peculiar thing about Gelb's direction is that he allows Jiro's philosophy to shine through these moments. Hands are wringing octopi in slow motion, water droplets gracefully fly through the air, and the violin croons, but what we hear most of all is Jiro's voice-over, quietly mediating on his life's work, and reaffirming that his goal was never the pursuit of money. The film's view of the artist is simple and unpretentious, a valuable insight in a world increasing dominated by expansion and the dollar value. One particular shot is more telling than any close-up of sushi; Gelb places his camera on the kitchen table as the chefs talk during their lunch break. The fish- eye lens indicates the voyeurism of a surveillance camera, but their conversation is natural, revealing and as far from performance as you can get. See the glee of one apprentice's face as he recounts the tale of finally perfecting an egg dish after two hundred attempts, and his reaction to Jiro's quiet approval. Though Gelb touches briefly on the issue of over-fishing, the past and his son's futures, it is Jiro's story that is at the heart of the film. His ascetic devotion to his craft seeps through every word, and also through generations; his younger son operates his own restaurant nearby (a perfect clone apart from the interior's reversal because he is left handed), while the older, well into his 50s, waits patiently to one day succeed his father. Jiro left his home at a young age, told by his parents to never return a failure, and began selling sushi on the streets of Tokyo. He has never left these roots. Watching the film is like peering through a window into a world with a work ethic most could never fathom. His career is fascinating yet beyond our comprehension. Is this what it is like to find your true calling, is this all there is? How can one be so sure of their life's work? But Jiro makes us sure that this path is etched in stone for him and his successors, and that he has no regrets. He wields his brush like a painter, gently applying shoyu to his dishes, and in Jiro Dreams of Sushi, his work has been immortalised.

siderite Shokujin, they call them, people who are not only good at what they do, but they gladly do it out of passion and continue to feel the need to improve at any time. Jiro is such a craftsman, an 85 sushi master who started working in the field when he was 10. That makes his continuing career last for 75 years.Obsessed with his work, he leaves at 6 and comes back at 22, working for 16 hours and never complaining. His two sons are helping him with the business. The youngest already has his own restaurant branch; that's because the elder brother is traditionally supposed to continue his father's work. At 85, Jiro doesn't show signs he ever wants to retire, though.It is a very impressive glimpse in the Japanese culture, the family, sushi, and very inspiring, as well. I am good at what I do and most of the time I love doing it, but some times I just bitch about it and give less than my all. Improving myself is not always my first priority. This film shows you what a man is like that does that religiously every day. A very interesting documentary, I recommend it to all, no matter your own opinion about sushi.There are some slipups in the film, though. Focused on Jiro's brilliant persona, no one even considers criticizing his faults. The documentary presents him as a living god, only giving some hints on what his childhood was like and how that translated into his own children's education. But what I thought was a glaring omission was the wife. You only see her smiling in one scene - one! - in the entire movie. She is the one that probably stays at home the entire day and has waking contact with her husband for one or two hours at most.While he boasts at actually dreaming of how to improve sushi when he sleeps, I've only noticed traditional methods of cooking in his restaurant, which I suspect has been having the same kitchen protocol for decades. I understand that he is a hard working genius, an uncompromising cook that deals only with the best product vendors and prepares and cooks sushi in the best possible way he could devise, but that shouldn't have made the documentary creators ignore his personal life, or lack thereof, and how it affects the people closest to him. There were enough hints in the film to not feel that this was intentional.Bottom line: almost one hour and a half of watching and listening to people talking about the perfect sushi taste made me ravenously crave fish. I would probably appreciate it better by eating it Penguin style, but still. I thought the film would bore me, but I actually followed it from start to finish without fast forwarding once and I felt inspired while watching it. While it is easy to appreciate the consummate craftsman who dedicates all to his passion and work, I can't see myself enjoying the life of a shokujin. Jiro is totally happy with it, though. There is something to be learned from that.

jwv-823-79715 A great feel-good documentary. The film succeeds in bringing forward an inspiring story of success. It's a good thing the film also focuses on Jiro's succession, but some deeper personal digging into the mystery Jiro still is after watching instead of focusing almost solely on his weighty philosophy, could justify the title some more.I had the feeling that the director didn't really have a very cohesive and logic narrative in mind throughout the whole mid part of the film, and that the reorganization of some scenes could have provided a more intricate and seamless narrative structure.What I thought was particularly great about seeing this movie from a European perspective was that it made me genuinely inquisitive and interested in this unknown Japanese culture.

Lee Eisenberg Even if you really like sushi - like I do - David Gelb's "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" will still give you a real appreciation of the various dishes. Elderly chef Jiro Ono has spent his life trying to prepare the perfect sushi in his Tokyo restaurant, and he shows how it's done. The viewer comes to realize that each piece of sushi is a real work of art, and the main character is very particular about everything (even where people sit). Another thing that Jiro Ono reminds us is that irresponsible fishing methods could wipe out the fish stocks.The documentary is a fine look at the work that goes into these masterful dishes. You just gotta respect the people who put the effort into this, especially considering that Jiro Ono has kept at it for so long. There can be no doubt that these great-tasting (not to mention very healthy) foods are part of the reason why the Japanese tend to live so long. But more than anything, this is a documentary that you're sure to love. I recommend it.I gotta go to Japan one of these days.