Jiro Dreams of Sushi

This documentary is about a sushi maker and restaurateur, who was made even more famous once Michelin guide rated him 3 stars (the highest rating they give).

85-year old Jiro Ono has a tiny and modest sushi restaurant (only something like ten seats), on an upper level of a pretty non-descript business building in Japan, yet his restaurant has wait lists of several months. Jiro has been working since he was about nine, and much of that life was in learning to make sushi and later owning his own sushi restaurant. Due to Japanese culture, he was sent out of the home when he was a child to make his own way, and through discipline and hard work, attributes he doesn't see very much in today's youth, he was able to survive a harsh youth and the troubles of World War 2. He has two sons who are also sushi makers, the elder son who is expected to inherit the duties at and ownership of the restaurant, and the younger who opened up his own restaurant.
Jiro always seeks to improve quality by choosing the freshest ingredients, through relationships with the best fishmongers, and yet personalizes to his clientele, such as creating sushi slightly smaller for female clientele so that all the eaters in her party finish at the same time before moving on to the next creation, or placing sushi on the plate in the correct spot for a left handed eater. People interviewed often state how hard working he is, rarely taking a day off and how he often feels out of sorts when he is not working. This reminds me of those prison movies where some old con gets paroled, only to find he is unable to fit in society again and wants very much to return to the routine of prison life.  The elder son naturally feels more pressure to inherit the mantle, but neither son at first had wanted to be sushi makers; just by being forced to work in the family business, with a tough but loving hand, have they learned to appreciate it and make a career of it.

The music is also well-chosen. The film is unfussy and clean. Although the documentary is not seeking to be eye-opening or flashy, it does show the family dynamic not only of Jiro and his sons, but also somewhat the relationship between him and his apprentices and the eating public.