Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Jiro dreams of sushi

A glimpse into life in Japan through a famous chef and his sons. Jiro is a famous sushi maker. He is 85 at the time of the film. I am wondering if he is still living. In the film, he no longer goes to the fish market -- relegating that task to his oldest son, who will take over the restaurant when his father retires.

It's interesting the attention to detail paid at the restaurant. At one point Jiro is joking with his customers about being left handed and how he tries to take notice when a customer is left handed and make the dining experience easier. He speaks about how he gives men larger pieces and women smaller pieces so they will finish the course at about the same time.

At least one of Jiro's workers mentioned how nervous he was about eating in Jiro's restaurant and the journalist who is conducting the interview mentions the same thing.

Interestingly, the younger son has his own restaurant and is thriving. The journalist mentions how difficult it will be for Jiro's son when he takes over the restaurant.

Clearly, this is a tight-knit family with high expectations for father and sons. I wondered, too, about the boys' mother. One of the sons mentioned that he told his mother that a stranger was sleeping in their house -- one rare occasion that Jiro was at home while the child was awake. Other than that there was no mention of Jiro's wife.

I loved seeing father and son visit the graves of the ancestors and watering the flowers on the graves. I also loved hearing the stories about Jiro's youth when he was a bit of a prankster and troublemaker. I understood his quandary in whether he should share that information with youngsters when he visits schools.

This film is 50 minutes or so. Preview to make sure it's appropriate for your students. Available on Netflicks.

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