Jiro Dreams of Sushi - documentary review.

Dampened hands containing a handful of rice, a sliced portion of freshly caught tuna lightly accented with wasabi, wrapped in toasted seaweed and served with a side of ginger or soy sauce. The methods of making sushi have long been shared to various cultures and enjoyed by many overseas. However, sushi has become such a high demand over the past few years that due to these growing needs the proper culture and etiquette behind sushi making is slowly being forgotten. In the documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” we delve into one of the finer parts of Japan to follow Jiro Ono, a sushi chef with 85 years of experience and the owner of the highest rated sushi restaurant in the world. 

The purpose of the documentary was to expose Jiro’s lifetime dream of perfecting his sushi technique in order to create the perfect roll of sushi. At first glimpse this story is simply about a guy who’s really really REALLY talented when it comes to making sushi. There really isn’t anything else to say, and I don’t meant that in a negative way, this documentary is ultimately about a man who dedicated his entire life to becoming a sushi prodigy. The documentary reveals his personal sacrifices involving his family, his health, and his own happiness in order to be a pioneer in the sushi industry. The documentary is interlaced with drama coming from commentaries of Jiro’s apprentices. This make the documentary much more dramatic and emotional for the audience. Audiences will absolutely love the perfectionist ideals of the protagonist and gain a deeper insight and respect for the efforts of making sushi.

The documentary is broken down into 3 sections: covering the lifestyle and daily chores of the sushi chefs, interviews with the employees and customers, and exploring what makes Jiro so unique. This documentary is very reflective because the audience comes to understand Jiro’s unique character as the director builds this strong idea of him via interviews from foodies, employees, and a personal interview with the man himself. Focusing on Jiro’s first born son, who finds it a struggle to live up to his father’s high stature, their relationship conveys a great deal about the family’s personal struggle. The son works the hardest but the father finds it unlikely that his son could be anything short of what he currently is. It also enters a self-reflexive theme whenever Jiro talks about his dreams and aspirations for the future. Despite his old age he still feels that he has not reached perfection. He constantly criticizes himself and shares certain wisdoms about enjoying one’s profession, “You must learn to love what you do.”

Most of the filming takes place inside Jiro’s michelin 3-star restaurant (highest possible ranking in the world) and the cinematographer incorporates the role of sushi within each shot. For example, shots would be juxtaposed with hands sculpting a large hunk of tuna and suddenly switch to the final product. Or during an interview it would cut to b-roll of sushi or Jiro working in his small kitchen. I believe the director wanted to point out the simplicity and beauty of making sushi. He would frame the shots so the pieces of sushi were close-ups and there would be a focus on just how appetizing the sushi was displayed. Also to help the audience there would be english subtitles, a clear indication that the directed audience was that of outer Asia. 

This film does more than to trace Jiro’s life but also spread awareness of larger issues plaguing ocean life. One of the main problems, that Jiro discusses in great context is over fishing. With a rapidly growing sushi industry it has resulted in many fishermen capturing young and not fully developed fish. Each year the tuna population dwindles and Jiro explains his success is on account of the fact he has credited fish sellers at his disposal. His entire life revolved around sushi and Jiro has addressed that fishers must respect the animals and only capture fish when they are properly sized. This is accomplished through the voice over he gives while clips of marine life and fish auctions are being displayed. One of my favorite shots is a sushi conveyer belt overflowing with sushi, with shots of fish being hacked away at afterwards. 

I found this documentary to be absolutely informative and in the most part entertaining to watch. We live in a culture where we can now explore thousands and thousands of different cultures simply by walking into a restaurant or even a small business. Being exposed to so many cultures we often forget to consider the basic fundamentals of society and stereotype cultures based on generic labels. Sushi has long been one of the main ideas of a Japanese culture, but this documentary illuminates a certain individual who accepts this label and does everything in his power to improve. I learned a lot about Jiro, and how much precision and effort is taken to create a meager roll of sushi. Why a simple slice of tuna roll at most took a chef 10 years of practice to create! The world of sushi is one that is interesting and peculiar, and if anyone is interested in the historical context of sushi this may be a documentary to consider.