Jiro Dreams of Sushi (and holy hell so do I)

I wanted to start out this year with a film of yummy goodness, since some friends and I are hitting up a small place in Pasadena tonight for some all you can eat.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi is a cinematographically orgasmic documentary about 85-year-old Jiro Ono, owner and master chef of the small but renowned Japanese restaurant Sukiyabashi Jiro. I'm not one for documentaries, mostly because they often overwhelm me with catharsis or bring me back to 5th grade science, watching 60 minute National Geographic specials on plate tectonics. However, Jiro Dreams of Sushi now finds its place as one of my favorites for its simplicity, its clean cut editing, and its beautiful music.

Soft ballads by Tchaikovsky and Mozart are joined by pieces by Phillip Glass, straight from The Hours soundtrack (which I flailed about for a few moments), slightly melancholic piano compositions that extract a sense of beauty from the simplest things. I mean, director David Gelb made the fish market romantic. I was fascinated the entire way though, and I'm saying this both as a sushi lover and as a cinephile.

I don't quite know what else to say, I'm not feeling too articulate right now. Honestly, I would recommend this to people who enjoy documentaries, lighthearted ones in which the main conflict resides in what we're all going to do with ourselves when Jiro passes. Though perhaps not, because most of us don't have the cash to try out such a place. But the idea's there.

Aesthetics: ★★★★ | Enjoyment: ★★★ | Quality: ★★★★★