Jiro Dreams of Sushi

by **ScottofStrand** » Tue May 01, 2012 4:29 pm

This endearing documentary is playing at the Harkins Camelview 5 at Fashion Sqaure. If you're a fan of sushi, and wanting a peek into the mind of a master who's been perfecting his craft for 75 years, I'd recommend checking it out. There isn't much of a story in the documentary, but I think the people on this board would get it. Total foody-porn.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-aGPniFvS0

by **Skillet Doux** » Tue May 01, 2012 5:31 pm

I'm really anxious to see this.

FYI, I just spoke to the box office at the Camelview. On Friday, it's leaving the Camelview and moving to the Shea 14.

by **ciaomari** » Tue May 01, 2012 5:34 pm

I find it incredible this is the director's debut feature film. The cinematography, musical score, restrained use of creative editing, sound effects [for example, amplifying the 'whoosh' of the brush being waved back and forth to cool a basket of hot rice]... Jiro is stellar on so many levels, to quote Mike Todd on my FB Wall: "Strong stuff about craft/pursuit of excellence, family, reputation, Japanese culture, and environmental ethics. Totally worth seeing even if you don't like sushi." It gave me thrills and chills twice, already planning on a third viewing. It's more storyboard than story, a life and lifestyle shared in snapshots of past and present, reflections of and lessons on life, etc. "Simplicity leads to purity," says Jiro. You see that statement brought to life in the way his team works, the sushi you see him serving, and fittingly embodied in this film about him. It's so simple and underdone, yet so powerful and moving. Hmm, we're gonna need a thread about food flicks.

by **sinosoul** » Thu May 03, 2012 11:41 am

Jiro made me burn a hole in my wallet earlier this year. After the movie, we did omakase every weekend for nearly a month straight. OUCH.

That said, my take-home may be different from others. Yes, the sushi porn was great, but the movies exemplifies the Asian education/parenting style, and glorifies the entire Tiger Mom/Dad phenom. Bottom line: this would've never happened in America, which is possibly a reason why American foodnerds are so in awe with the the movie.

Also, after all the reports of actually dining at Jiro, I'm very UNlikely, even if in Japan, to partake in the experience. It does NOT sound pleasurable.

by **Skillet Doux** » Fri May 04, 2012 2:32 am

Wow. Wowwowwow.

I did not expect to enjoy that as much as I did. I expected to enjoy it, but I didn't expect to find myself transfixed like I was.

I'm still trying to put my finger on why. I think it's something about those shots when the sushi hits the black lacquered wood. Not the porn -- though that's seventeen kinds of awesome -- but the whole notion that this is the product of a lifetime of dedication and work and experience and sacrifice, deftly shaped and then bam, set down for a fleeting moment of bliss. It's the gravity of a lifetime of passion distilled down into one bite at a time. And of course, the other themes are fascinating, but I think it's the poetry of that act, combined with some seriously slick filmmaking to enhance the gravity of the moment, that got me.

It's interesting to hear that the Tiger Dad theme, so to speak, was a significant one to you, sinosoul. It's not one that I would have taken note of, I think, if you hadn't mentioned it. If anything, it's an example of how a good film can hit different people in different ways depending on what they bring to it.

My first thought when the credits started to roll was that I never want to eat mediocre sushi again. Not because I'll lament that it isn't what it could be. Not because I don't want to hasten the disappearance of a dwindling resource (though that segment of the film is positively terrifying). But because it makes me feel like I don't want to waste my time with food that isn't the product of passion for the craft. And I always feel that to varying degrees. We all (all of us here) do. Though we converse in its symptoms -- the flavors, the colors, the textures, the smells -- it's that passion that we seek, the sense that the food is a vehicle, a means of expression, for something bigger. But I've never felt that as acutely, I think, as I did walking out of this film.

See this on the big screen, folks. It's at Harkins Shea 14 this weekend and into next week.

by **BarbaraToombs** » Fri May 04, 2012 10:02 am

Well, I don't think I can say it any better than ciaomari or skilletdoux! Pam Swartz and I went to see this a couple of weeks ago, and transfixed is absolutely the correct work, Dom! Being a former TV director/editor/cameraperson, I truly appreciated the thoughtful and amazing cinematography, the editing, etc. But the true dedication of this man to his craft, and how he made his passion his life's work, is a lesson for everyone (not just foodies!). From a food standpoint, however, I was fascinated to get a glimpse into the inside world of sushi: the various vendors (from rice to each different kind of fish), the fish market itself, the whole business. It also raised a cultural question for us: if Jiro had daughters instead of sons, would they be trained up in the sushi craft? I don't think I've ever seen a female sushi chef---has anyone else?

I am very particular about the movies I actually buy, but this will be one of them.

by **M_L** » Wed May 09, 2012 10:18 am

It is hard to fathom that the story of a man who has made sushi for 70 years would keep someone rapt with focus on every word and scene. Yet that is exactly how I felt through the entire movie. The camera work and cinematography is also quite brilliant but it is Jiro and his day to day routine that truly amazed me.

by **Skillet Doux** » Fri Aug 17, 2012 9:40 pm

FYI... Jiro is now available on video!

by **azhotdish** » Fri Aug 17, 2012 10:23 pm

Skillet Doux wrote:FYI... Jiro is now available on video!

looked it up on RedBox tonight and it came back with a recommendation for "The Three Stooges: The Movie"...so, yeah. Can't wait to see it.

by **andrewknoc** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 9:50 am

I don't remember the last time I paid over $20 for a DVD (almost certainly a blessed mercy given my history), but: http://www.amazon.com/Jiro-Dreams-Sushi ... B007UW9WOQ or you can rent it for 48 hours on from Amazon for $4.

by **Lunchbox** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 10:50 pm

FYI - You can now watch this instantly on Netflix...

https://movies.netflix.com/movie/Jiro-Dreams-of-Sushi/70181716

LBX

by **sinosoul** » Fri Aug 31, 2012 9:39 am

Lunchbox wrote:FYI - You can now watch this instantly on Netflix...

thanks for this! just watched the first 10 min which I missed at the theatre.

by **nom** » Tue Dec 11, 2012 8:23 am

Loved this film. It is a great cataloging of what is a nearly extinct art form. I thought it interesting that they think that Jiro-san was not present during the days that the Michelin people visited.

I do think the fishing problem is sorting itself out. Mostly. The costs of wild caught fish are getting to the point that the cost is just not bearable in that economy. Farmed fishing is catching on. The greater threat to fish stocks may be global warming at this point.

Of all the things they featured I would really like to try that cooked egg the most of all of it.

by **SalamanderX** » Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:32 pm

Since the thread was revived, I'll just chime in my observation. Aside from the awesome portrayal of zealot-level dedication to craft, I left feeling a but depressed in the sense that to achieve that level of mastery, you need to do daily repetition for 50+ years. We live in such a short term world these days, and in America, this would never fly. By the time you perfected your craft enough, the landscape would change (think Phoenix over last 30 years) and you'd be out of business or the new neighborhood would up your rent.

We live in a culture that fires head coaches after 3 seasons and that replaces hand-cranked Starbucks espresso with automated machines. We have little patience like the Japanese.

Perhaps even aspiring to 1/100 of Jiro's methods would be a step in the right direction. I don't think we can go back, but I think much of the "movement" these days is capturing an essence of it. Slow food, technique, ingredients.

by **BillBuitenhuys** » Wed Dec 26, 2012 11:22 am

Finally watched this at home last night (thank you,Christina and E) and we were totally transfixed.
I thought the mostly minimalist Phillip Glass score was a perfect match with Jiro's philosophy of perfection in simplicity.

That level of dedication is really hard to fathom. It's both awe inspiring and depressing. The will to constantly strive ti perfection yet the knowledge that it is all one will do, day after decade, and never get there. Jiro cant retire because this is all he knows...it's what gets him up every day. I was hungry after watching ...and saddened, both for Jiro and his eldest.

I'll watch it again for sure.

by **nom** » Thu Jan 03, 2013 2:32 pm

but seriously though, how do they make that egg sushi?

And is that the last course always?

by **Tim H** » Fri Jan 04, 2013 8:24 am

The DVD commentary is as interesting as the film. I hadn't quite figured out that the real protagonist of the story is Jiro's elder son, embarked on a sort of hero's journey. So I watched the film, listened to the commentary, and watched the film again.