"Jiro Dreams of Sushi" Is a Contemplative, Elegant Character Study

Jiro Ono is the world's most famous sushi chef. He is 85, still running his three star Michelin rated restaurant in Tokyo. He lives, breathes, and, aptly enough, eats sushi. A stubborn perfectionist and dogged workaholic, Jiro has made sushi and the making of sushi his life.

Jiro takes the making of his sushi so seriously that it's almost become a form of art. In Jiro Dreams of Sushi, his process is described as a symphony or piece of music, and the stylistic form of the film is like a symphony. Classical music plays throughout and the film is shot with sheen-like, minimalistic elegance.

His restaurant is not a fancy place though. It's a tiny, tucked away place. But people must make reservations months in advance and one meal costs at minimal $300. Jiro has become a legend within the food industry and people go out of there way to eat his food and learn from him. He's a simple, serious man who loves his work and believes in doing it well.

Jiro is never satisfied, constantly seeking to improve his food and his technique; he's exceedingly hard on himself. He's also tough on his two sons who he insisted work for him rather than attending college. His sons resent him slightly (and they have a very strained bond with him, rarely seeing him when they were younger); it's never outright stated but they're frustrated with their father, who has continued working long past when anyone expected him to. Even a heart attack at the age of seventy has done little to setback his commitment to his work. His son now buys the fish but everything else is meticulously supervised by Jiro.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi functions as an fascinating character study and an intriguing glimpse into the sushi industry.

Grade: B+