nudiusterrtian:

For Lev 

lilafowler:

get in my mouth

(Source: stayclassyandup)

epicures:

Was lucky to see this tonight- followed by director conversation.

And omakase at Kiriko

Something fishy

Foodies will delight in new doc Jiro Dreams of Sushi, others not so much

by KIER-LA JANISSE

March 15, 2012

First-time feature filmmaker David Gelb’s Jiro Dreams of Sushi is the story of Jiro Ono, an 85-year-old sushi chef considered by many to be the greatest in his field. His sushi-only restau­rant, Sukiyabashi Jiro, has a mere 10 seats and is nestled in the hallway of a subway station—not the most obvious place for a restaurant with a three-star rating from the esteemed Michelin Guide. The sushi is expensive (in part because so much of the product is consumed by the staff, who have to test everything to make sure it’s perfect for the clientele), but customers who travel from all over the globe with reservations months in advance say it’s worth the pilgrimage.

Full disclosure: I hate seafood. Should I have to like seafood to like this film? Well, in this case it would help. A good film will rise above such prejudices, but Jiro Dreams of Sushi is clearly not made for film aficionados as much as for the kinds of yuppie foodies who come out in droves to support any film made about food or wine (or yoga).

Many of these films have pedestrian structuring and cinematography, and Jiro Dreams of Sushi is no exception. But there is an audience for this film, and that audience—as reviews elsewhere attest—will savour the many lingering moments of tiny morsels of fish being placed symmetrically on square black plates. This presentation forms the film’s aesthetic core, but the minutiae of preparation—the tuna auctions and their rhythmic auctioneering poetry-language, the bustling markets where countless fish are rejected in the selection process, the hour-long massages each octopus requires—conveys the gruelling work behind it.

So is there a knockout film that could be made about sushi? Probably. But this isn’t it, in part because the personal angle doesn’t work; its subject, Ono, is too reticent to engage the audience. “The shokunin [craftsmen], they just want to work, they don’t want to be special,” says one of Ono’s former apprentices. That’s admirable, but where’s the drama in that? There is an attempt to imbue the film with some conflict by juxtaposing the talents of Ono’s two sons, but ultimately the film only works as a tantalizer for select taste buds. ■

JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI OPENS THIS FRIDAY, MARCH 16

Haiiro no Ginka vol. 54

blogostromy:

IRO DREAMS OF SUSHI is the story of 85 year-old Jiro Ono, considered by many to be the world’s greatest sushi chef. He is the proprietor of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant inauspiciously located in a Tokyo subway station. Despite its humble appearances, it is the first restaurant of its kind to be awarded a prestigious 3 star Michelin review, and sushi lovers from around the globe make repeated pilgrimage, calling months in advance and shelling out top dollar for a coveted seat at Jiro’s sushi bar. 

For most of his life, Jiro has been mastering the art of making sushi, but even at his age he sees himself still striving for perfection, working from sunrise to well beyond sunset to taste every piece of fish; meticulously train his employees; and carefully mold and finesse the impeccable presentation of each sushi creation. At the heart of this story is Jiro’s relationship with his eldest son Yoshikazu, the worthy heir to Jiro’s legacy, who is unable to live up to his full potential in his father’s shadow. 

The feature film debut of director David Gelb, JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI is a thoughtful and elegant meditation on work, family, and the art of perfection, chronicling Jiro’s life as both an unparalleled success in the culinary world, and a loving yet complicated father. 

(Source: youtube.com)