Jiro Dreams of Sushi

I heard about this film months ago. I read about it in Entertainment Weekly -- and in Rolling Stone -- I saw promo posters plastered throughout the Tenderloin -- and I love sushi so it was generally brought up as a must-see. For reasons that are inconsequential, I waited until last week to finally see Jiro Dreams of Sushi and I am happy to report that it far exceeded my expectations.

First, I must mention that usually when films are hyped up - even just a little bit - the chances that I will be disappointed are huge. This unfortunate phenomenon occurs because the hopes and expectations that I have built up have simply failed to manifest. I suppose the cosmic balance of things levels everything off with the instances when I don't have any expectations for a film (i.e Tree of Life or Drive) and the film ends up being an exceptional piece of work. Ah, such is life. Which brings me

to why Jiro is an exceptional film. It's essentially about life. And what we make of it (and, it's also about sushi.) Jiro is a hard-working old-aged Japanese man who was raised in a typical lack-luster family with a father who was not around. He could have easily faded into the background of a collective existence but something in him sought to strive for excellence and, through tiny twists of fate and circumstance, Jiro became a master of the art of sushi. 

Jiro speaks clearly and evenly like many a collectivistic, older asian man I have heard; But there is something different about Jiro that sets him apart from other collectivists who believe in their place as a cog in the machine - He works relentlessly at a pursuit of perfection regardless of anything else. All that matters to Jiro, all the time, is how to improve on his craft.  

Which reminds me a little of the hero archetypes in Ayn Rand novels who unbendingly pursue their dreams of perfection and refuse to submit to societal pressures. Jiro talks about not bowing to the pressures of success as a means to make more money - because money was never the end goal. Perfect sushi is the goal. It is not spoken of, but I would not be surprised if Jiro was pressured by some to move his establishment out of the bowels of a subway station and into a larger more "prestigious" location so that his business may expand. I am sure he would turn his tiny nose up at this notion or not even give it the respect of a response for it is clear to him what his mission is. And once the mission has been decided and committed to, everything else is either with the mission or against it. And then life can (perhaps)suddenly seems easier to navigate.

I respect this way of life because so often I feel that life (especially in America) is difficult, not because of lack of choices of being tied down to one thing - it's the awareness of an infinite amount of choices that can be made at any time. This at first overwhelms me and then, after the task is deemed insurmountable, leaves me in the same spot that I was 10 minutes ago. Its a process that leaves me doing nothing while feeling aimless and lost and worst of all: unproductive. 

Young people in America are often taught that the sky is the limit. And even Buzz Aldrin will tell you that limit can be tested. But the typical doctrine for growing up in this country is "follow your dreams, never give up, and you can do anything you put your mind to". But what if your dream has not been realized yet? I'm thirty years old as I write this and I wonder how simple life would be if I could just figure out what the hell I am passionate about. And then there's the ever-present dilemma: how to monetize this passion. 

Sure I have degrees under my belt, and I am excited to one day start a family; But I don't wake up every day like Jiro does and relentlessly pursue the same thing - day after day. There is something Gladwell-esque about Jiro's pursuit that I respect. And I worry that too often American's, like myself, are encouraged to dabble in many things so that we may realize our dream, and in the end, end up as a jack-of-no-trades. 

So here I was thinking I was in for a refreshingly hip, eye-candy documentary about sushi and I ended up on the other side contemplating life. 'Tis the make up of a fine film in my opinion and I am glad this film is receiving the attention that it so well deserves.

There are other facets of this film that I have not mentioned in this post -- like the hierarchical relationship between Jiro and his sons -- that also make this film celluloid gold and could warrant and extra blog post. But you'll just have to see for yourself.

Want to contemplate life while wishing Willy Wonka's Wonkavision was a thing of reality? Go see Jiro Dreams of Sushi. You'll be glad you did.