A watery but completely tasteless documentary about one of the most acclaimed sushi chefs in the world (and no doubt the most famous), Matt Tyrnauer’s “Nobu“Is such a great portrait of Nobu Matsuhisa that it feels like it should only be available to look at a DVD sold in the gift shops in the restaurateur’s hotel.
To that point has the simple fact that Matsuhisa’s empire has grown to include Hotel is one of the only things I learned from this generously portioned film about his life, which is sweeter and less satisfying than Nobu Signature dish of black cod in three days old miso pasta, although it takes almost as long to marinate.
Not because I actually have have Nobus’s signature right, or any of its others, for that matter. Which is likely to be the case for most viewers, is Tyrnaeur’s love letter to Matsuhisa the closest I will ever eat at one of the Nobus 56 different places-Kock’s life-long commitment to the freshest ingredients will not be cheap, and this movie if he requires pain to insist on the quality of hyperfranchising.
In this context, it’s hard not to enjoy sinking over this documentary abundant food pornAlthough Tyrnauer seems more invested in lifestyle Porn that Matsuhisa is happy to flag in the mid-70s (I rolled my eyes on his private jet, just to bug them out on the beautiful sushi bars he has built in all his different houses). This emphasis is not quite square with ethos in Matsuhi’s restaurants, where sushi is supposed to be the star in the show and sushi bars are somewhat elevated about the dining room, as a scene. But it corresponds to the chef’s natural inclination against the finer things in life. In some ways, “Nobu” is more like “Jiro Dreams of sushi” than any other movie ever made. In others, it seems different that could be.
Matsuhisa is really much more extroverted and Gregarious than Jiro Ono, to the point that it is difficult to see if Tyrnaeur (“where is my Roy Cohn?”) To make a puff piece, or if he was charged to submission to his subject on the road. Whalever the case, the guy is a great hang, and “nobu” excels in the rare moments when it espews the overcooked stairs of its subgenre-the breathy quotes about the Meaning of food, the genuflective spee-speed-run, the Major Events of Afrough the Major Events Them to Picasso – in Favor of a More Natural Glimpse at the Man Behind the Mononym.
Which does not say that Matsuhisa’s story is unattractive; While this special story about it can be far too windy for his own good, his journey is from failure to success-from Japan to Peru, Anchorage and then finally Los Angeles, where he met his most loyal customer and future business partner Robert De Nir- a fine story of self-confidence in the face of serious declines. He credits his wife for saving him. Their daughter talks well about the unusual but hard -loving family that her parents created together with their fortune.
The second half of the film even makes a couple of efforts to complicate the triumph, both of which indicate the more material documentaries that Tyrnaeur may have done instead. In a thread, Matsuhisa regrets the suicide of his oldest friend and blames himself for not being more accessible when they needed his support. In another, Tyrnaeur’s camera is a fly on the wall during a controversial business meeting on the latest expansion of Nobu. In order to invoke Frederick Wiseman here would abandon this film’s patience to sit with such things, but the scene is strikingly “real” in connection with a movie that otherwise feels hyperch constructed (it is possible to “Cindy Rice” -Inspiration Cindy Crawford Bara happened To turn off Nobu when cameras rolled, but I tend to doubt it), and it gets a jerk of fresh energy from an upset De Niro, who has not been so animated on the camera for several years.
But “Nobu” is not very interested in the future of Matsuhi’s business, or in the threatening spectrum of his pension. On the contrary, this movie is pleased to offer a pleasant and glossy celebration of a nice man who stumbled to great success by sticking to his childhood dream to make good sushi and became a brand for himself somewhere along the way. Tyrnauer’s Doc is a bit more than an extension of – beyond an ad for – That brand, and for better or worse, makes it really hungry for more when it’s over.
Rating: C+
Vertical Entertainment releases “Nobu” in NYC Friday 27 June. A national launch begins on Friday 4 July.
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