The 2011 documentary "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" by David Gelb addresses and ignores a lot of interesting things about the world of sushi. The movie is about an 85-year-old man, Jiro, and his life. The movie shows his struggles and that he never gave up on his love for sushi. Jiro, refusing to retire and leave his restaurant to his son Yoshikazu just yet. The messages of this inspiring story are: never give up, hard work pays off, and there's always more to learn.
In one part, Jiro admits that at one time someone claimed that the art of sushi was mastered, but he disagreed. He thought, and still thinks that there is so much more to learn and improve. I noticed that every vendor he and his son buys from has the same school of thought: There is always more you can do to learn your trade. There is never an end; never a stopping point.
However, what this documentary failed to show is the making of the sushi; "the tricks of the trade," if you will. Sure, you got to see glimpses into the kitchen and even learned the secret to making octopus not taste so rubbery (massage it for 40-50min), but you saw some things that they were doing, but you didn't know exactly what it was that they were doing or how it added to the improvement of sushi-making. We learned so much about Jiro, but very little of what he was famous for.
Nor did we see the other sushi restaurant owners and their philosophies. The only other one that we saw was interviewed because he had been an apprentice to Jiro. The only questions that were asked of him pertained to Jiro and how he worked. What makes Jiro so special and different? How do we know that no other top sushi chef has a different method? We may feel that Jiro is different because he doesn't believe he will ever master the art of sushi, but how can we be so sure that others don't feel the same way?
On a personal level, I enjoyed learning about about Jiro and his life, but I wanted to see more. On an academic level, I wanted more of an unbiased view, more insight to the making of sushi, and more comparisons and contrasts to the others in his field.
Works Cited:
Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Dir. David Gelb. 2011. Film.
In one part, Jiro admits that at one time someone claimed that the art of sushi was mastered, but he disagreed. He thought, and still thinks that there is so much more to learn and improve. I noticed that every vendor he and his son buys from has the same school of thought: There is always more you can do to learn your trade. There is never an end; never a stopping point.
However, what this documentary failed to show is the making of the sushi; "the tricks of the trade," if you will. Sure, you got to see glimpses into the kitchen and even learned the secret to making octopus not taste so rubbery (massage it for 40-50min), but you saw some things that they were doing, but you didn't know exactly what it was that they were doing or how it added to the improvement of sushi-making. We learned so much about Jiro, but very little of what he was famous for.
Nor did we see the other sushi restaurant owners and their philosophies. The only other one that we saw was interviewed because he had been an apprentice to Jiro. The only questions that were asked of him pertained to Jiro and how he worked. What makes Jiro so special and different? How do we know that no other top sushi chef has a different method? We may feel that Jiro is different because he doesn't believe he will ever master the art of sushi, but how can we be so sure that others don't feel the same way?
On a personal level, I enjoyed learning about about Jiro and his life, but I wanted to see more. On an academic level, I wanted more of an unbiased view, more insight to the making of sushi, and more comparisons and contrasts to the others in his field.
Works Cited:
Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Dir. David Gelb. 2011. Film.