Quick Bite: JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI

Directed by David Gelb

In Japanese with English subtitles

This documentary on the-then-85-year-old sushi master Jiro Ono is a must-see for sushi lovers, foodies, or anyone who has respect for those who strive to perfect their craft. On the surface, the movie seems to be about a man that is obsessed with making sushi, but in reality it is actually a story about the search for and creation of harmony.

We learn about the experience of having a meal at Jiro Ono’s Sukiyabashi Jiro, which is the first sushi restaurant to receive a Michelin three-star rating. Located in a Tokyo subway station, the restaurant seats only 10 and reservations are made at least a month in advance. The menu is a set menu costing 30,000 yen (approximately $375) consisting of 20 pieces of sushi. Now, this may seem an extraordinary amount to pay for a meal that lasts only about 15 to 20 minutes. However, the movie recounts how the meal is served as if it were a symphony. (To enhance the symphony analogy, the movie is accompanied by classical music from Beethoven and Philip Glass.)

It’s not an ordinary meal. This is sushi prepared with a lifetime of experimentation (seemingly scientific at times) and passion. Jiro Ono is no mere sushi chef—he is known as a shokunin (craftsman or artisan). He started working with sushi at the age of 9, and he has never strayed or been distracted from perfecting new ways to prepare the perfect piece of sushi. He does not believe that he will ever attain his goal, but that does not deter him from trying to do so every day.

He is known for his soft-handed, two-fingered technique. He advises his apprentices that they should handle the fish and rice as if they were pinching a baby chick. Apprentices train for at least 10 years before they’re even allowed to touch the food. All of the ingredients are selected by masters in their specialties—from the tuna buyer, the shrimp buyer, and the rice buyer. The rice is served at body temperature and the fish at room temperature.

As he was 85 when the movie was shot in 2011, how will his legacy continue? He has two sons who appear in the film. The younger son has opened a sister restaurant in Roppongi Hills. The restaurant’s layout is a mirror image of the father’s. As the father is left-handed, and the son is right-handed it creates perfect symmetry. His older son, Yoshikazu, works in his father’s restaurant and he will take over when his father retires or becomes unable to continue working. The question of course is whether the son will live up to the father’s accomplishments. The film answers that with a resounding yes, with an astonishing climactic revelation.

After watching, don’t be surprised if you find that you, too, have dreams of sushi!

Note: Would also highly recommend watching the specials that come with the BluRay or DVD (i.e., deleted scenes and commentary).