Jiro Dreams of Sushi (***1/4)

Everyone should be so lucky as Jiro Ono, who early on found his calling and has spent most of his 85 years doing the thing that he enjoys and that gives his life meaning. His life is simple and orderly; his Tokyo sushi bar is small, with ten seats, serving unadorned sushi and nothing else, save a slice of melon after the meal. His customers book a month in advance and pay a minimum of 30,000 yen for an experience that may last as little as 15 minutes. Jiro has two sons; the elder works for him, and the younger one runs a place that is the literal mirror image of Jiro’s, since Jiro is left-handed and he is not.

Except for the rumblings in your stomach, this documentary (by American David Gelb, but entirely in Japanese) provokes the calmness felt by its primary subject. We learn a little about his history (with gaps), a little about his techniques and his suppliers, and a lot about his philosophy, whose essence is to work hard and repeat until you achieve perfection. Jiro has not yet achieved perfection, he believes, but, according to the food critic interviewed here, who purports to have tried all of the sushi in Tokyo, he is the best.

Those indifferent to Gelb’s luscious close-ups of sushi may be less impressed with this film, but even the mildest of foodies will likely find something to appreciate in Jiro Dreams of Sushi, whose inspirational quality (heightened with music by Phillip Glass) is an alternative to the bustling Food Channel vibe.

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viewed 3/22/2012 7:00 pm at Ritz East [Landmark Film Club screening] and reviewed 3/22/2012

Today’s Special (***)

I haven’t seen that many films about Indian Americans, but I’m pretty sure all of them, not to mention British films like Bend It Like Beckham, deal with issues of family and culture clash. Even the titles of such films—Mississippi Masala, American Chai, American Desi—reference these themes. This adaptation of Aasif Mondvi’s play may be the lightest version of this story. Mondvi, the erstwhile Daily Show correspondent who shares screenplay credit, plays Samir, a Manhattan sous-chef who steers clear of all things Indian—the cuisine, cricket, and the women on the Indian dating sites his mother tries to fix him up with. But when a family emergency forces his father away from the family’s run-down Indian restaurant, Samir is forced to put his own plans on hold and pitch in. And, with the help of an Indian-born cabbie he meets who just so happens to also be a master chef with lots of free time, pitch in he does.

This very likable comedy may be too likable for its own good. Samir’s potential girlfriend (Jess Weixler, of Teeth) has a kid? No problem; we never even find out whether there’s a father somewhere. His new chef doesn’t believe in menus? No problem! (Seriously? An Indian take-out place with no menus?) Of course, everything will work out in this sort of gentle comedy, and that’s fine, but a little doubt in the meantime would have made it more satisfying. The chef is a too-good-to-be true man of the world who can conjures up a full-course meal in no time. Still, as played by Bollywood veteran Naseeruddin Shah, he’s the most captivating of the characters. More downbeat, but realistic, is the relationship between Samir and his father, who simultaneously looks down on Samir for his choice of career and resents him for seeming to disregard his family traditions.

IMDB link

viewed 12/14/10 at Ritz 5 and reviewed 12/14/10

Waitress (***1/4)

This comedic drama is the story of an unhappily married diner waitress (Keri Russell) in a small southern town who finds herself, to borrow another film title, knocked up. Subtly condescending to her controlling, insecure husband, she finds solace in the arms of the town’s dreamy new doctor. “I was addicted to saying things and having them matter to someone,” she confides in a voiceover, by way of explaining her adultery, and of furthering revealing the late Adrienne Shelly’s gifts as a writer. The folksier, more comedic diner scenes reminded me of the 1980s TV show Alice, with Cheryl Hines as the sassy waitress, director Shelly as the dowdy one, and Russell as the (soon-to-be) single mom hoping for something better, perhaps utilizing her skills as a sort of pie auteur. As with that show, there would seem to be too few employees for a diner, but never mind. Well-acted and warm as pie, this is a sweet treat with just enough crust on the outside.

(written 6/15/07)

IMDB link