Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)

"If you don't love good food, you can't possibly make great food." (Jiro Ono)

Perfection doesn't exist.  If it does, it is fleeting and should be honored.  That's the truth when it comes to Jiro Dreams of Sushi.  It is a celebration and eulogy for the craft, honor, dedication, and skill that molds into one moment of perfection: Sushi.

I am a huge seafood and sushi hondo.  I worked selling fish, I cook seafood all the time, I even dabble in reasonable home-made maki and edo style sushi...and, I would pay the full cost with a smile on my face to eat the food in this movie.  If it could possibly be half as delicious as it looks through the distortion of media, I would be blown off my chair and hurt myself.

While watching Jiro Dreams of Sushi, I couldn't help but notice the semi-somber tone it encapsulated.  Without saying it directly, the real purpose of the move is to highlight the final autumn of a culinary age.  Jiro is old.  He won't be back again.  His tradition goes on, but it may never be exactly the same again.  I'm glad the movie didn't devolve into a discussion of the death of Japanese work ethic or lament the passing of dedication as virtue.  That would trivialize the true meaning of Jiro's work and the sushi.

Lastly, I don't make literary comparisons all that often...as I think crossing mediums does not serve to illuminate art as a stand-alone.  But, I really felt a strong connection between Jiro's sense of quality and "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle".  The pursuit of quality and skill through dedication, feel, and art is worth our appreciation.

Ratings

Hungry:  See it

Super hungry:  Skip it

Hate fish:  Skip it

Slack much?:  Skip it/ See it   (it might change your life.)

Probationary apprentices:  See it  (Know what you are getting into.)

On a scale of Blue Monkfish to Thelonious Monkfish, I give Jiro Dreams of Sushi, 3.4 out of 5 stars.