MYST Post #2: Jiro Dreams of Sushi

This week, I had the great pleasure of knocking down another movie off My List on Netflix, and this time, it was Jiro Dreams of Sushi. I'm usually not into documentaries, but 1) I've heard really good things about this specific documentary and 2) I love sushi (the former compelled me more towards the movie). So this documentary profiles the famed, 85 year-old sushi chef, Jiro Ono, who is the owner of the Michelin three-star restaurant, Sukiyabashi Jiro. The film covers his rise to sushi-making and his constant strive for perfection. Along with this, we see both his sons, Yoshikazu and Takashi, who both are striving to achieve the international recognition their father has as sushi masters. Takashi, the younger of the two, opened his own sushi restaurant called Roppongi Hills, which is a mirror image of his father's restaurant, while Yoshikazu, being the older of the two, is fighting to inherit both his father's restaurant and the lingering fame of Jiro Ono.

In terms of its cinematic elements, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Throughout the documentary, the director highlighted the sushi-making techniques and always had a close up of the finished product of the sushi (see above). What I loved about the director's portrayal of the sushi was that it was always so vibrantly colored. I think the vibrancy was important to the director not only because it's a movie about food, but also because it really shows that at the heart of the film is Jiro's devotion and love. Sure, Jiro is an enigmatic person who dedicated the last 75 years of his life to the art of making sushi, but knowing him as a character, drawing special attention to color really represents his passion. In addition to this, I loved how classical music played in the background in many scenes. At one point in the movie, a food critic notes, "Jiro's sushi-making technique is similar to a symphony," and in relation to how he serves his guests, "[Jiro] starts with lighter sushi and ends with heavier sushi." The music highlighted this aspect of his life very well and also served the director's greater purpose of starting with just casual aspects of Jiro's life and ending with broader messages of how to live your life (to both students and adults), the idea of legacy, and the environmental implications of the food industry.

From the montage of sushi preparation in the kitchen.

All these general aspects aside, my favorite scene was the montage of the sushi preparation in the kitchen. There are only five people working in the back, but all are on their way to becoming sushi masters. They've devoted more than 10 years to the art of making sushi, and by the looks of the documentary, no one is about to stop any time soon. What I loved about the montage was again, the vibrancy of the colors of various sushi and tempura making, and also the editing. I think a lot of the times, montages can get really messy, too fast of editing between scenes or over-dramatization of characters or the plot. This montage really sealed the deal in terms of its editing because it emphasized all parts of the kitchen with equal amounts of time at each station. It really hit it home for me because it showed that no one section of the kitchen was more important than the other. All parts were necessary, and therefore, every one of the five people working were integral parts of the famed Sukiyabashi Jiro and to Jiro Ono.

The five members of the staff and head chef, Jiro Ono.

Overall, I adored the film. I was very nervous going into it because it was a documentary, but I think it had a great story but even greater themes at the heart of it. I recommend this movie to any and everyone. I think at times, audiences could become bored because it's a documentary, but I think the film makes up for it due to its important messages which appeal to both young adults searching for their futures and adults wary of what lies ahead. Since I don't watch too many documentaries, I think a movie I find comparable in terms of message is The King's Speech. That movie deals much with legacy and what it means to be in the limelight, much like Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Also, I Googled "similar movies to Jiro Dreams of Sushi" and found one documentary called Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, a documentary following the famous Chinese modern artist, Ai Weiwei. I think that documentary could be a good follow-up to Jiro Dreams of Sushi for the fact that Ai Weiwei is very stubborn and strict in his art form, much like Jiro Ono.

In all, I was blown away by Jiro Dreams of Sushi. I came into the movie thinking that I was going to just watch a couple of guys making sushi, but left with a heightened sense of taking hold of my dreams and really going after them. For its amazing cinematic elements and story, I would give this wonderful documentary a 4.8 out of 5 stars.

And I'll leave you with one of my favorite lines from the movie.