Director David Gelb originally intended to make a movie about several prominent sushi chefs, but Jiro Yoshino turned out to be special enough to merit his own documentary. The owner of a Michelin Guide 3-star restaurant in Ginza, Tokyo, Jiro is 85 years old and has devoted his life to the art of sushi. We also follow his son, who’s in his 50s and still waiting for the chance to take his father’s place. The film shows the craft and philosophy that lie behind all the mouthwateringly fresh pieces lined up on the counter for dining guests, but it also addresses the fact that the world has changed and that fish stocks are becoming depleted. A sympathetic albeit unremarkable portrait of a true master and his life, although the choice of music (familiar classical pieces and Philip Glass’s The Hours score) is lazy.
2011-U.S. 81 min. Color.Ā Directed byĀ David Gelb.
