Like any master of the art, Jiro, who is 85, can show you how a trick works, let you see the details, and yet it still mystifies anyway. That is the hallmark of true magic. But while other magicians work with top hats and rabbits, Jiro works with sushi. His restaurant, a tiny, 10-seat spot in a Tokyo subway station, is widely acclaimed as home to the greatest sushi in the world. There is nothing in David Gelb's lovingly obsessive documentary "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" that dispels that notion.
Obsessive behavior is a theme here -- Jiro is obsessed with sushi. What is the old adage? Find something you love to do and you'll never work a day in your life? Perhaps. But Jiro lives to work. He detests holidays, can't wait to get back to the restaurant, get back to toiling at his chosen path: to make better sushi. Yes, his may be the best there is, but that's not good enough for him. The title is telling -- Jiro dreams of making better sushi, despite working at it non-stop for 70 years.
We see him prepare it, and at first glance there isn't that much to it. The fish is sliced, molded with rice, formed to perfection and placed on a plate, painted with a swipe of sauce. And then it's eaten in one bite, all the effort consumed in an instant. If that bothers Jiro, he doesn't show it; he's busily working n the next course.