Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2012)

This is not a documentary about food. If you love anything about food, you will probably love the documentary, but even if you have no interest in cooking, you will still probably love this. Even if you hate sushi, I am sure you will take pleasure in this fantastical portrait.All you need to know going in is that this documentary is about Jiro and his two sons. Their lives happen to be mostly concerned running sushi places, but even if Jiro had picked a completely different occupation, it would probably be a great documentary. Jiro has an all-encompassing working mentality, that leads to him being in constant competition with himself. His end goal does not seem to be anything material, but instead it is to be the best he can be at what he does. And what he does is to make sushi, more than it is being a father, or a celebrity. This seems like a typical set up for conflict between he and his sons, and while the documentary does hint at it, it's also obvious that it is just a part of the culture. The best moments are when they are all laughing of statements about their situation that are brutally honest.As a side note, this is also a neat introduction to Japanese culture. By no means does it cover all aspects of it, but in a nonchalant way it highlights parts of Japanese culture that are (literally) foreign to many.

This movie popped up many times in my Netflix stream and I ignored it because it didn't really sound interesting. Eventually, I decided to give it a shot; something so highly rated on IMDb is worth it. I watched the movie with my family at home, who are not an easy crowd and I often defend my choices against their harsh opinions.However, this time, what a bore! This movie has no conflict. You've got a man whose story was that he was poor and became a sushi master (this is maybe 5 minutes of the movie). There is no critique of the chef, just endless praise.A couple things are interesting, such as the fish shopping and the difficulties the workers experience due to the perfectionism of Jiro. The other good aspect is the cinematography. Beautiful shots of sushi placed on plates. There is a little more information about Jiro's philosophy of food.The rest of the movie I can't even recall. It's slow, uninformative, and completely biased. There is nothing to keep your attention in this film. I find nothing interesting about a chef who is good at his specialty and maintains an unopposed mastery of it.If they wanted to make this a good movie and Jiro is really "perfect," at least show critics of his food being berated for not liking the food. Another thing that would have made this interesting is to learn more about the fish market or spend more than just a few minutes on the history of sushi or his upbringing. These things feel like footnotes to a long standing ovation to someone who has mastered sushi.I just can't believe the almost unanimous positive reaction the film gets. I was so disappointed, I had to give my two cents. I have defended many movies to my family but besides what I mentioned above as positives, I couldn't find anything to outweigh the dragging pace and conflict-less story of Jiro Dreams of Sushi.

You might be skeptical about seeing "Jiro Dreams of Sushi", a Japanese documentary about an 85 year-old sushi chef, but this is an inspirational and fascinating story. It's not every day that you are invited to witness a true master at work and throughout the film you really get to know the man. You don't necessarily find out what his "secret" is (if there is one) but you get to know what drives him to such levels of excellence. Seeing someone as passionate and as skilled as Jiro made me look at myself and think that maybe I could some day get to that level of reverence as well. That made me feel good, even though I realize that the effort required will be extensive. If you're a chef, a cook or any other kind of crafts person, this is really inspiring and moving. It's also a very well shot film that speaks on levels that go beyond just food and this is miles above those a 15 minute slow news day highlight segments you can sometimes find on TV, it really is a movie, a small story that impacts you in a big way. Even if you don't like sushi, you'll be starving by the end of the credits. (Theatrical cut, July 12, 2012)

What a unique personality, I was really glued to the screen for most of the movie, who knew so much detail could go into such a simple looking dish such as sushi.I don't think I'll ever look at food the same way. Kinda feel bad for his son for having to fill such big shoes, seems though like he's doing a great jobJero Dreams of Sushi - Master one craft in your life. Become the top#1 in the world - Taste and smell food as best you can, you're missing out - strive for constant improvement. There's no such thing as perfectDvirp.s. wonder when I'll have the chance to visit this restaurant!