Jiro Dreams Of Sushi By David Gelb

Jiro Dreams of Sushi is a documentary centered on a man who spent nearly seventy-five years of his life perfecting and improving his sushi making skills. David Gelb, the director of this film, had initially intended the documentary to be about a variety of sushi shops. However, after hearing about and visiting Jiro’s out of the ordinary sushi restaurant, he decided that he would make his documentary about Jiro. Gelb has successfully portrayed Jiro and his sushi from many different perspectives by voicing the thoughts and reactions of Jiro’s workers, customers, associates, and, a food critic. Although the film is mainly about Jiro and his passion for sushi, it also takes note of his two sons that follow in his footsteps as well as the difficulties

When speaking about Jiro’s past we are told that he was abandoned and was set onto his path towards sushi as an initial means of survival. This knowledge of how Jiro came to be who he is allows us to sympathize with Jiro and see him as more than just the sushi crazed workaholic he appears to be. On the other hand, by showing us pieces of Jiro’s past and leaving out gaps of Jiro’s life, we are left with many unanswered questions. Though his sons are present, there is absolutely no mention of his wife. In fact, there is no mention of a life beyond work at all. Is this done on purpose to indicate that Jiro has no life beyond making sushi or was it edited out to focus more on how hardworking Jiro is? Jiro is described as a consistently hardworking and dedicated man (which is evident through his seven decades of sushi making) by everyone around him but he himself does not mention much outlook on his life. He does say that hard work is the way of Japanese culture but subjectively we don’t know how Jiro feels about how his life has played out. He has become a highly respected sushi chef and is viewed as the pinnacle of sushi making but is that really all he wanted out of