susanrabraham To be honest, I'll click on anything with Sushi in the title. Admittedly, I went in hoping for a lightly toned film a la Julie & Julia/Chef, but I was determined not to let my pre-conceived notions ruin the experience. I quite enjoyed the neat clean representation of the food- my favourite scene was when she first peeps into the Japanese restaurant. I actually liked the restraint to showcase a loud, over-the-top family bubbling with activity despite their situation- it was refreshingly realistic... If the acting could've held up to it. An endearing story of struggling to make life better for oneself while supporting your family- but the film really leaves a lot to the imagination, which imo is the screenplay's fault. There was no real concrete establishment of any character, location or emotion at all- at times it is frustratingly slow. It ran for 1 and a half hours like a train struggling to leave the station and left me feeling like I watched a low-budget play or depressed Disney TV movie.The mise-en-scene is highly lacking, the camera-work did a good job of bringing out intimately tense moments, but really wasn't very creative and added little to elevate the characters and physical location. It felt like a bad joke in a lot of places, especially the competition towards the end... I found myself laughing.. Which is not a good thing considering what they were trying to establish...The dialogues are ok at best, without any real punch, again because enough time was not taken to flesh out persons and situations. I was confused until the very end- was their relationship romantic? Or just really good friends? I would gift my friend a knife... And then go get tacos... Where was the romance? It felt like she was battling some inner depression the entire time, unable to let her emotions flow through freely... I kind of wanted to shake this film up entirely and give it just 10% more energy- even the youngest of the cast couldn't infuse more energy into the scenes- that is poor screenwriting, not so much acting even. Although the film could've used some more of that too. For such a simple plot, there was no balance in the visual treatment, to make it more engaging as a film.Interesting concept, I wish the editing was a liiiitle faster- not that I wanted an action film, but the pace really worked against the film in the end and it was a bit of a struggle to get through the last legs. It was slow yet choppy, sentimental yet parodical... I have a sense of what the creators were trying to accomplish, but I suppose it didn't really work for me.

Lee Eisenberg I've seen a number of lesser known movies that center on food, and I've liked them all: "Chef" and "Today's Special" are examples. Anthony Lucero's "East Side Sushi" is another addition. Part social realism, focus on sushi preparation, it's fun but also forces the viewer to think. Single mother Juana has to deal with poverty and sexism while working in a sushi bar in the Bay Area. The movie has a few funny scenes - tako vs. taco - but it's mostly serious. It's the sort of movie that might make you want to go out and have some sushi, but also remember that the people serving you are having to work hard to support themselves (and possibly entire families). The cast of unknowns helps to emphasize that there's nothing glamorous or "cute" about this story. These are ordinary people having to deal with real issues.Really good movie.

David Pride I really enjoyed this movie and found it very thought provoking. It's not every day that a movie comes out that addresses race, gender inequality, and low-income families. The movie starts a little slow but is totally worth the watch and I would recommend watching this with your daughter and discussing equal pay, gender discrimination, and diversity once it's over. I was a little suspicious that the movie may be too cheesy but it turned out to be a very nice flick. The characters felt very authentic and since I live in Maine it exposed me to some ways of life that I am not familiar with. I also think this would be a great classroom movie that could inspire a lot of great conversations and a discussions.

pinokiyo Hollywood can't make this kind of Gold.I used to work at a sushi restaurant and the little things in the script is so hilariously true to life... right to the type of customers, the whole having to master cutting cucumber, getting mad at ordering teriyaki at a sushi bar... looking stuff up on craigslist -- the little things! (The only thing I found to be a little unrealistic was how the restaurant getting together during their lunch break(?) feeding their staff nice sushi and rolls... well, I guess they really are a nice restaurant and not stingy to their workers! What luxury...)The main lead, Juana, is beautiful!! She sort of reminds me of a young Salma Hayek, but cuter. She's great!The main lead's father deserves Best Supporting Actor award; his delivery and reactions are so natural and hilarious... he's immediately very likable. Aki, the Japanese chef, (and they actually got a real Japanese guy!) is good too. Just great casting overall - very very likable cast, even the young daughter. ('There's a Chinese man at the front door.' haha) I love the scene with the main lead and the chef having sake together; great script-writing. To me, that scene was touching (got me teary) and hilarious at the same time bringing up the issue about being a woman and races. (soo funny and true about assistant chefs being Chinese and Korean... 'he smells like ashtray!' haha Koreans love to smoke)I love how they intertwine Mexican and Japanese culture together. Very very cool. I really enjoyed it and was engaged the whole time; it went by really fast. If you work at a sushi restaurant/love sushi/like Mexican/Japanese cultures, or just want a movie to inspire to go after your dreams, watch it. You'll love it. It's funny, cute, touching film that you can enjoy multiple times. It's not a big budget movie and perhaps may have a little high quality TV-Movie feel, but who cares. These are the types of movies that's worth watching; real-life conversations and stories people can relate and be inspired to.Highly recommend! It has become one of my favorite movies. One funny goof I noticed... when the chef asks the girl to help him out with the phone orders, she puts it on regular plates instead of a to-go box. xDOh and when Mr. Yoshida was cutting the cucumber "art" and the customers respond in amazement/kind of sucking up to the chef is sooo funny - that really happens in real life... it's also funny because that cucumber didn't even look amazing at all. What the hell was that? Haha