“East Side Sushi” in some ways incorporates what I have seen in California, New York and other metropolitan cities. From its food culture of fusion foods, to people of multicultural backgrounds discovering another culture’s food and having the drive to learn to prepare it correctly but also breaking down barriers and people of different cultures understanding, learning from each other. A delightful and inspiring film…Anthony Lucero’s “East Side Sushi” is recommended!
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DVD TITLE: East Side Sushi
FILM RELEASE DATE: 2014
DURATION: 106 Minutes
DVD INFORMATION: 1:78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English 5.1 Dolby Digital, Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish
COMPANY: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
RATED: PG (Brief Violence, Suggestive Content and Mild Language)
AVAILABLE ON: May 3, 2016
Directed by Anthony Lucero
Written by Anthony Lucero
Executive Produced by Zheng Xu
Starring:
Diana Elizabeth Torres as Juana
Yutaka Takeuchi as Aki
Rodrigo Duarte Clark as Apa
Kaya Jade Aguirre as Lydia
Roji Oyama as Mr. Yoshida
Lane Nishikawa as Jimmy Nishida
Miyoko Sakatani as Mrs. Yoshida
Single mom Juana, can slice and dice anything with great speed and precision. After working at a fruit-vending cart for years, she decides to take a job at a local Japanese restaurant, which provides security and benefits. Intrigued by the food, she learns to make a multitude of sushi on her own, fusing it with her own culture. When she attempts to become a sushi chef, she is shut down since she is the ‘wrong’ race and gender. Against all odds, Juana embarks on a journey of self-discovery, determined to not let anyone stop her from achieving her dream.
Watch an Exclusive Clip of how the talents prepared for their role on EAST SIDE SUSHI
Lucero may not be a well-known director or writer, but many people may be familiar with his visual effects works for other films.
Having worked on visual effects for films such as “Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones”, “The Avengers”, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2”, “Men In Black 2”, “Iron Man” to name a few, the visual effects veteran makes his directorial and screenplay debut for “East Side Sushi”.
An award-winning and nominated indie film at film festival across the United States, the film will be released on DVD Courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in May 2016.
The film stars Diana Elizabeth Torres (“Private Number”, “Inherent Vice”, “Morir de Pie), Yutaka Takeuchi (“Battleship”, “Letters fro Iwo Jima”), Rodrigo Duarte Clark, Roji Oyama, Lane Nishikawa, Miyoko Sakatani and more.
The film revolves around Juana (portrayed by Diana Elizabeth Torres). She and her father Apa (portrayed by Rodrigo Duarte Clark) are trying to make ends meet. Juana works at a fruit cart and a single mother for daughter Lydia (portrayed by Kaya Jade Aguirre) nearly is killed by robbers.
Finding a job at a local gym, Juana has experience working at Mexican restaurants and can cook but often, has not found a job that she really enjoys.
One day, while walking from her work, she passes by a Japanese sushi restaurant who is hiring help. Juana decides to go for the interview and is hired to work in the back, washing dishes, carrying bags of rice and later cutting vegetables.
As she learns about Japanese food preparation, she learns about sushi from chef Aki (portrayed by Yutaka Takeuchi) and through her observation, she quickly learns how to prepare sushi, cutting the fish and Aki is surprised of how Juana is passionate about making Japanese food.
But Juana also wants to learn how to be a sushi chef but also find ways to create a fusion of Japanese and Mexican ingredients to make creations for her own family.
And as Juana works at the restaurant for more than a year and wants to get better and see herself grow at the restaurant, the owner of the restaurant, Mr. Yoshida is not so thrilled to see her staff that is to work in the back, trying to become a sushi chef.
Juana quickly learns that due to culture, women are not seen as chefs at sushi restaurant and learns that Mr. Yoshida wants to promote authenticity at his restaurant, wanting customers to know they are receiving quality food from those who are sushi chefs in Japan or were trained in Japan.
How will Juana prove herself that she can be a sushi chef? Or can she?
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“East Side Sushi” is presented in 1:78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen and English 5.1 Dolby Digital. Picture quality is good, as one can expect on DVD. But I wished this film was released on Blu-ray.  But overall picture quality and audio is very good.
Subtitles are in English, English SDH, French and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“East Side Sushi” comes with the following special features:
- Behind the Sushi – (13:04) A look behind-the-scenes on the making of “East Side Sushi” with excerpts of the auditions, training the actors on how to prepare the sushi but also the research done for the film.
- Behind the Music – (4:51) Composer Alex Mandel discusses the music of the film.
- Deleted Scenes – (4:07) Featuring two deleted scenes with commentary.
Anthony Lucero’s “East Side Sushi” brings up a topic that I know myself and other sushi enthusiasts have discussed many times. Can people who are from other ethnicities other than Japanese become a sushi chef?
While I have traveled far to sample the best sushi all over Japan, I have also have traveled to even the smallest areas in California and have discovered Japanese restaurants in which the chefs were Chinese, Korean, Hmong, Mexican and of other ethnicities.
It has been intriguing to me and always a conversation starter among me and other friends who are passionate about sushi.
And what a fitting storyline which delves further into the topic on not just ethnicity but also a woman as a sushi chef, which you never see at a restaurant.
“East Side Sushi”, a story about a single mother named Juana who had worked at many La Taqueria and a family fruit stand (and fears the job after being beaten and robbed) but is needing a job to support her family including her father.
So Juana applies as a dishwasher for a sushi restaurant. And while working there, she learns about sushi, the Japanese approach to sushi and its ingredients and preparing them when the sushi chefs are busy. And as she becomes passionate about making sushi, she even tries to combine sushi with Mexican ingredients at home in order to feed her family and learn on how t make it.
But having learned from a Japanese chef, she now wants to become a sushi chef in the front, instead of being kept in the back room. And of course, the conundrum of a woman and a non-Japanese being a sushi chef, becomes the main issue in the film.
As the owner of the restaurant and even a few patrons want Japanese authenticity.
What’s interesting is that this is a topic that me and friends have discussed many times.
Would you eat at a sushi restaurant where sushi is not prepared by a Japanese chef or someone that was not trained in Japan?
This is a topic which sushi enthusiasts often talk about but in Juana’s case, she learned from a Japanese sushi chef and her intellect and observation of trying to mimic the best, has led her to strive to become a sushi chef and bettering herself in the process. But also finding ways of creating culinary fusion by combining Japanese with Mexican ingredients.
“East Side Sushi” is a delightful film and a solid debut for writer/director Anthony Lucero, who is best known for working in visual effects for Hollywood’s top superhero and sci-fi action films.
And as an independent film, the performance by Diana Elizabeth Torres, Yutaka Takeuchi, Rodrigo Duarte Clark and Roji Oyama were well-done. The cast members received sushi training courtesy of Andy Matsuda and his Sushi Chef Institute and while I’m not an erudite on the exact preparation, preparation of vinegar rice or the cutting of sushi, the actors did look convincing.
And even small moments involving chopsticks on top of the rice, made me groan. So, it was interesting to see those little tidbits added to the film.
Last, I felt it was great for filmmaker Anthony Lucero to bring parts of East Oakland to the big screen. It also added a bit of authenticity of the different multicultural backgrounds in the city and also influence the two distinct cultures featured on screen, as we get to learn more about Juana’s family and also those working at the sushi restaurant.
Speaking of sushi restaurants, sushi enthusiasts in the East Bay will notice the scenes in the film are from sushi restaurants: Coach Sushi, b-dama and Mijori Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar.
Sure, the Iron Chef style ending does get a bit campy but for the most part, I found the film to be charming, enjoyable and a lot of fun to watch.
I also enjoyed the hint of romance between Juan and Chef Aki. In California, I know many Japanese who have dated and married American men who are of different ethnicities, so I love the multicultural touch this incorporates and showing the appreciation of other cultures.
Overall, “East Side Sushi” in some ways incorporates what I have seen in California, New York and other metropolitan cities. From its food culture of fusion foods, to people of multicultural backgrounds discovering another culture’s food and having the drive to learn to prepare it correctly but also breaking down barriers and people of different cultures understanding, learning from each other.
A delightful and inspiring film…Anthony Lucero’s “East Side Sushi” is recommended!
