Jiro Dreams of Sushi ****

Jiro is Jiro Ono, 85-year-old master sushi chef, who has devoted his life to his 10-seat restaurant in the Tokyo subway, an establishment Michelin has awarded three stars, which means it's worth a journey to the country to eat there. Jiro is a perfectionist, well-known to his suppliers, who will offer only those fish they know will meet his standards, an exacting boss and teacher of his sons and employees, and a very hard worker. This straight-forward documentary shows us every aspect of his life, details his history, and, like the best work of the genre, shows his relationship to his city and its culture, and gives us a sense of the changes he has seen in his long career. It helps if you love sushi, but even a strictly beef and potatoes viewer will understand his attention to quality and consistency, his pursuit of a purity of experience, and an artist's love of his medium. The film, like Jiro, is an outstanding example of its kind.