Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Composite Score: 82.57
Featuring: Jiro Ono, Yoshikazu Ono, Masuhiro Yamamoto, Daisuke Nakazama, Hachiro Mizutani, Harutaki Takahashi, and Hiroki Fujita
Director: David Gelb
Genres: Documentary, Food, Biography
MPAA Rating: PG for mild thematic elements and brief smoking
Box Office: $2.69 million worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
Jiro Dreams of Sushi is a 2011 documentary about one of the most prolific sushi chefs in history, Jiro Ono and his sushi restaurant Sukiyabashi Jiro. It studies Jiro’s methods in prepping his daily menu, training his apprentices, and serving to his guests. As a study in sushi and the world of high end restauranting, it provides a beautiful meditation and exploration, both informing and entertaining its audience as they are brought alongside everyone else who has the opportunity to witness Jiro’s greatness. For anyone looking for a perfect comfort watch, few films will surpass the simplicity, beauty, and fascination that Jiro provides.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
If you don’t like sushi and don’t care to get to know anything more about this world, it might be difficult to become invested in Jiro Dreams of Sushi, making it a potentially difficult watch for some viewers. Also, if you are hungry, Jiro might not be your best bet because it will only serve to make you hungrier and, specifically, make you want sushi to eat, which might not be the best for your wallet and will only leave you disappointed because it isn’t Jiro’s sushi. This is a film unapologetically about sushi and a guy who makes sushi really well, so if those don’t sound like things that will interest you, this film probably won’t either.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
Jiro does what most great documentaries do – fascinate you with the details of its subject. The intricacies of sushi making and running a restaurant are explored in-depth, bring the audience right into it and making them feel like almost equal participants with the actual customers at the restaurant. The way the sushi is presented alongside Jiro’s story and that of his restaurant and family helps you to see just how meaningful Jiro’s work really is.
The story woven by the documentary also serves as a way to encourage the audience to reflect on their own works and passions. Jiro’s dedication to sushi for nearly 70 years is both an inspiration and a challenge, not just to the chefs training under him (including two of his sons), but also to those of us watching, to seek to find something that could drive us to seek its perfection in such a fanatic way, which very few people truly accomplish. Jiro’s nearly workaholic nature never feels overtly capitalistic or selfish or even unhealthy, rather it is what he was born to do, and so he should keep on doing that thing. It presents a unique offer to the audience, asking them to find something like that while being willing to fail and struggle in the process – a difficult but potentially rewarding challenge.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi succeeds as a documentary by bringing the audience into Jiro’s world and helping them feel a part of something they might never otherwise witness while also presenting such a profound example of someone laboring in a vocation that the audience feels encouraged to pursue their own interests with similar zeal, making the film easily one of the Greatest Films of All Time. Though its limited scope and niche subject matter might keep some from watching it, the film more than rewards its audience for coming along for the ride. Jiro is currently available to stream on Hulu for anyone looking for it.
