It’s a simple film, the documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi, elegant and unadorned, creating from the most basic of cinematic ingredients (image, music, people talking) a flavorful, nuanced dish.
Jiro Ono is 85 and is generally considered the greatest living sushi chef. His restaurant, Sukiyabashi Jiro, seats only 10 and does not contain restroom facilities, yet it earned a three-star rating (the highest possible) from the Michelin Guide — an unheard-of accomplishment for such a tiny eatery. Reservation at least a month in advance are mandatory, and the minimum price for a meal is 30,000 yen (about $380).
And the restaurant serves one thing, and one thing only: sushi.
Jiro began his immersion in his craft 75 years ago, and it’s just about all he wants to do. He believes that immersion in one’s work is the key to living honorably. But he admits he wasn’t much of a father to his two sons, both of whom have followed in Jiro’s footsteps.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi quietly concerns the plight of Jiro’s elder son, Yoshikazu, who at 52 has worked under his father’s wing for 30 years as is expected someday to take over the restaurant (the younger son having opened his own place — literally a mirror image of Sukiyabashi Jiro — with his father’s blessing).
Yoshikazu looks much like his father, but he has a yen for speed. He hated training to be a shokunin when he started out, wanting instead to be a fighter pilot or an F1-series driver. Even now that he has embraced his destiny, he loves him some fast cars. Yet he bides his time unassumingly, working with his father, working on the craft.
If you’re a foodie, there’s much to enjoy in Jiro Dreams of Sushi, from the acquisition and composition of the components of Jiro’s culinary artistry (brief conversations with various vendors, a tuna auction) to the colorful, lingering shots of completed creation But as a food critic Masuhiro Yamamoto offers as a summary of Jiro’s genius, “Ultimate simplicity leads to purity” — which translates into dishes that are visually minimal.
Director David Gelb delivers this story unobtrusively, suffusing his film with Philip Glass music and leaving aside a firm hand or strong narrative voice. (Yamamoto fills that role to some degree.) Despite the film’s soft charm, as it wears on it seems as if ultimately there may not be enough substance. Then comes a sliver of information whose import you might miss if you’re not paying attention (fitting, considering the film’s quietude). And with that the taste of the film takes on a richness you tasted all along without knowing it.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi screens Thursday, June 21, at 9pm — and that’s it.
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Art Theatre of Long Beach
2025 E. 4th Street, Long Beach, CA 90804
(562) 438-5435