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Film review: ‘Jiro Dreams of Sushi’

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If you’re a sushi fan, you’ll probably be dreaming about this guy after watching Jiro Dreams of Sushi.

The Details

Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Three stars
Directed by David Gelb
Rated PG
Beyond the Weekly
Official Movie Site
IMDb: Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Rotten Tomatoes: Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Although it sometimes strains to fill its brief (barely 80 minutes) running time, David Gelb’s documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi is a well-crafted tribute to hard-working and humble sushi chef Jiro Ono, whose modest Tokyo restaurant (just 10 seats at a counter, and located in a subway station) has become an internationally renowned phenomenon. Customers make reservations months in advance and spend hundreds of dollars to eat Jiro’s meticulously crafted sushi, and Gelb lovingly captures both the preparation process and the final result. The movie functions well as high-end food porn, but it’s also an insightful character study of the single-minded Jiro and the way he imposes his values on his two sons, both of whom are also sushi chefs. Watching the 85-year-old Jiro spend his every waking moment on his life’s work, as he has since he was just a teenager, is both inspiring and somewhat bittersweet.

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