https://www.netflix.com/title/70181716?s=i&trkid=13747225
This documentary, released in 2011, is about Jiro Ono, an 85 year old sushi chef who is widely considered the world’s greatest sushi chefs. His restaurant Sukiyabashi Jiro, has just 10 seats and serves exclusively sushi. The restaurant is located in a Tokyo subway station, an inconspicuous spot for a restaurant that requires reservations to be made at least a month in advance. The prices start at 30,000 yen, about $ 2,700, for a 20 piece course. The restaurant has a three star Michelin Guide rating with people coming from all over the world for the experience that lasts about fifteen minutes.
The documentary was released by Magnolia Pictures and was directed by David Gelb. The soundtrack has a lot of classical music that sounds repetitive, which was a deliberate choice by Gelb to a metaphor for Jiro’s work ethic. There was 150 hours of footage and the editing took ten months. The film was well received and got 99% on rotten tomatoes.
I liked the progression of the film. It starts out introducing Jiro and his restaurant, praises from food critic Masuhiro Yamamoto, and his former employee Hachiro Mizutani, then gradually becomes more focused on Jiro’s process of perfecting his craft and his life and relationship with his sons Yoshikazu and Takashi. I really liked the filming of the sushi, I felt that the frequent shots of the completed pieces of sushi were almost a metaphor for Jiro’s life and work. The sushi appears simple, however a lot of work and preparation goes into each piece. With chefs massaging octopus for up to 50 minutes, marinating fish for five or more hours, and aging fish for three to ten days, Jiro is uncompromising.