Opens on Friday in Manhattan.Directed by David GelbIn Japanese, with English subtitles1 hour 21 minutes; not ratedAn aristocracy of taste guides the philosophy behind Sukiyabashi Jiro, the tiny, sushi-only restaurant in the Ginza shopping district of Tokyo that is spotlighted in David Gelb’s hagiographic debut feature, “Jiro Dreams of Sushi.” The chef, Jiro Ono, 85 in the film, plainly sees no reason to alter the 10-seat, fixed-menu, basement establishment — much less retire from a profession in which he is widely regarded as a god among men. Why change a good thing, when, in 2008, Michelin’s inaugural Tokyo guide awarded the eatery three stars — sans toilet? (The rating was reaffirmed in November.)Mr. Ono’s cult of admirers in this 81-minute documentary includes a Japanese food critic, the patiently diligent kitchen workers, an awe-struck former apprentice, dealers in fish and rice, cooing customers, and two sushi-slinging sons fully aware of the paternal burden of excellence.

They all yield valuable angles on the master, but despite foodie-baiting close-ups of nigiri sushi brushed with soy sauce, and montages of skillful food prep, the film falls short as a satisfying exploration of craft. Like many other such portraits, it wastes valuable time declaring its subject’s excellence that could be spent fleshing out demonstrations, explanations, context.Mr. Ono’s inspiring dedication is not in doubt: it will come as no surprise that he is a workaholic. sumo sushi menu jakartaRather more absorbing are his story of fleeing home at 9 (later photos show a young man staring with rock-solid confidence), his parsing of fatty tuna’s simplistic taste and glimpses of his wicked wit. sushi kan ottawa take outThe question of authorship within restaurants remains tantalizingly, or politely, open; leer online sushi para principiantes

the filmmakers fabricate suspense around the relative merits of Mr. Ono’s eldest son, Yoshikazu, whose managerial role is paramount.Slathered in the Philip Glass iterations that have become a hackneyed substitute for editorial momentum, the documentary is shot with the Red camera, whose look is well suited to the glistening of the exquisitely prepared fish. how to get sashimi tales of piratesIt sure beats takeout.sushi grade fish tempe The exquisite nigiri slices gleam with freshness, and you do learn about the component parts to the perfect serving of sea eel or gizzard shad.sushi san francisco taraval January 8, 2013 | It's torture to watch Jiro Dreams of Sushi -- if you are on an empty stomach.

January 7, 2013 | By the time this graceful film is over you understand why Japan has declared the bald, bespectacled Jiro a national treasure. Even if you've never tasted sushi, the man's singleness of purpose will inspire you. April 20, 2012 | Gelb apparently understood that his subject was itself so taking that he wouldn't need filmic embellishments to keep his viewers alert. Obsessive, we were saying? Oh my, yes, and that's what makes the film so compelling. April 19, 2012 | This documentary strikes a balance between storytelling and food porn that's hard to come by in foodie flicks. Like a proper sushi meal, "Jiro" left me feeling sated, not stuffed. April 12, 2012 | Here’s your Zen koan for today: Is it possible to create something so pure in its simplicity that it disappears?Sure it is, answers “Jiro Dreams of Sushi,” a new documentary by David Gelb. Just come down to Jiro Ono’s tiny restaurant in the basement of a Tokyo office building, near the Ginza subway stop.

There you will be presented with what many food connoisseurs consider the finest sushi on the planet, gastronomic objects unparalleled in their unadorned elegance. Seconds later, they’ll be gone.Be prepared to make your reservations at least a month in advance, though, and expect a bill starting at $365; also, don’t hope for much in the way of ambience. Sukiyabashi Jiro holds only 10 seats, doesn’t offer appetizers, and is a bare-bones experience that’s purely about the fish. A food critic named Yamamoto admits he’s nervous every time he eats there, whether from the pressure of living up to the food or simply from being in the presence of God.“Jiro Dreams of Sushi” is a foodie’s delight, obviously, and best seen either on a full stomach or with restaurant reservations immediately following. Gelb films the preparation of the nigiri with appropriate reverence: soaring strings on the soundtrack as knives glide through the red, glistening chunks of tuna in slo-mo close-up. But the film says as much about the human price one pays for perfection — or the pursuit thereof — and it’s not in dollars or yen.

At 85, Ono is the acknowledged master of his art. Michelin gave Sukiyabashi Jiro a rare three-star rating, meaning that it’s “worth traveling to the country just to eat there.” Superstar chef Anthony Bourdain has bowed down and declared his unworthiness, and the Japanese government has named Jiro a living national treasure. In person, he’s smiling but ascetic, a lean, weathered artisan whose devotion to his craft is complete. Gelb’s camera follows him to the Tsukiji fish market, where we get a hint of what makes Ono’s sushi stand out from the pack (he has special arrangements with vendors whose standards are as exacting as his). Would you be willing to massage an octopus for 45 minutes, until its flesh possesses just the right amount of chewability? “It always has to taste better than last time,” he says.It’s not that Ono’s past is unimportant; he just doesn’t have much of one. Having left home at 9 — and being told by his parents not to come back — he became a sushi apprentice at a time when the food was still sold in the streets of Tokyo, well before it achieved global fame with the introduction of the California roll in the 1980s.

We see old photos of Jiro in his youth, but they convey little. More compellingly complicated is the master’s relationship with his two sons. The elder, Yoshikazu, is still his father’s apprentice at 50, and he wonders if he’ll ever be his own man. (”Jiro’s ghost will always be there watching,” he says with resignation at one point.)A younger son, Takashi, is charged with the lesser task of managing a second restaurant, in Roppongi Hills, identical to the mother ship in every respect other than that everything’s reversed (the father’s a lefty, the son a righty). Both sons wanted to go to college, but Ono wouldn’t let them, and Yoshikazu says he hated making sushi at first. “I wasn’t much of a father,” Jiro admits.But what’s attentive parenthood when the universe is calling through the daily ritual of striving for the ineffable? The film’s title isn’t kidding -- Jiro really does dream of sushi — and his approach to life is the same as his approach to food: Do the same thing every day, only simpler and better.