7.7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The story of 85-year-old Jiro Ono, considered by many to be the best sushi chef in the world. A thoughtful and elegant meditation on work, family, and the art of perfection, chronicling Jiro's life as both an unparalleled success in the culinary world and as a loving yet complicated father.
Director: David GelbForeign | 100% |
Documentary | 39% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English, English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The closest I got to seafood as a kid was Gordon's fishsticks, so my palette has never been particularly accustomed to the ocean's briny delicacies. The
first time I had sushi, I thought it tasted like something pulled out of a drowned sailor's stomach. My gag reflex hit hard. I've been told this is an
atypical experience, and that perhaps I was at a less-reputable sushi joint, with less-than-fresh fare, but the damage was done—raw fish is one of
those foods I studiously avoid. Even during the two years I spent teaching English in Japan, living practically right on the Pacific coast, I couldn't bring
myself to try it again. After seeing Jiro Dreams of Sushi, however, I might be persuaded to give it another go.
The documentary is the debut feature by director David Gelb, who initially set out to make a broad film about the sushi craft in Tokyo—profiling several
restaurants and chefs—but found that everything he wanted to say about the industry is personified in one man, 85-year-old Jiro Ono, whom many
consider the best sushi chef in the world. Japan recently declared him a “living national treasure.” His restaurant has been awarded three Michelin
stars. Anthony Bourdain and French culinary legend Joël Robuchon are big fans. With a steely dedication to his lifelong craft, Jiro is what’s known in
Japan as a shokunin, a word that literally translates as “artisan,” but carriers deeper, meditative connotations. For our purposes, it might
simply mean master.
Jiro Ono
For the sake of being discrete, director David Gelb shot much of his initial footage with a small DSLR, eventually graduating to the larger and more capable Red One camera once he'd established Jiro's trust. There is a slight but noticeable gap in picture quality between the two sources, with the DSLR material more subject to compression artifacts and low-light noise. You'll also notice that highlights frequently seem a bit blown out, as if the exposure should've been dialed down an f-stop or two, but otherwise, there are no real distractions here. Color is strictly realistic, and peaked highlights aside, the image looks great, with satisfyingly deep blacks and balanced skin tones. And although the shallow, open-apertured depth of field results in some occasional softness from misplaced focus, clarity is strong enough to make you appreciate the fact that you're watching the film in high definition—via a 1080p/AVC encode—and not on DVD. It looks to me like Magnolia's Blu-ray presentation is entirely faithful to source.
The disc includes a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, and at risk of stating the obvious, yes, the entirety of the documentary is in Japanese. Since all of the audio was recorded on location, there are times when the voices can sound a bit thick or muddy, and you might notice a slight high-gain hiss on occasion, but none of this ever goes to the level of distraction or unintelligibility. For the most part, this mix does exactly what it needs to do. As you probably expect, most of the activity is constrained up front, but the rear channels do occasional get to put out some quiet ambience—like the lapping of ocean waves—and give some bleeding room to the musical cues. One of the highlights of the film is its elegant soundtrack selections, from Phillip Glass to Tchaikovsky to Bach, and it all sounds wonderful. The disc defaults to English subs, but those who might need or want them can also select English SDH or Spanish subtitle tracks.
Although it's certainly one of the best documentaries I've ever seen about food in the past few years, Jiro Dreams of Sushi is more than that; it's about fathers and sons—looming shadows and unfillable shoes—and it explores a kind of dedication-to-craft that's hard to come by anymore in any industry. The film itself is as exquisite and artfully arranged as Jiro's minimalist sushi, with a wonderful soundtrack, beautiful macro cinematography, and a smart, spare editing style. If you love fine cuisine or if you're fascinated by individuals who make an art of the seemingly commonplace, you owe it to yourself to see it. Besides some unavoidable source-related picture quality hiccups, Magnolia's Blu-ray release is solid all around, and includes plenty of delicious extras. Highly recommended!
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