East Side Sushi

Stop me if you've heard this before: aspiring chef wants to make it to the top. Sure, we've seen those films. Now stop me if you've heard this one: aspiring Latina wants to become a top sushi chef. Wrong race. Wrong gender. Ambitious goal. Lead actor Diana Elizabeth Torres delivers an outstanding performance as Juana, the barrio fruit cart vendor who aspires to better things.

Walking by a sushi restaurant one day, she spies the food and marvels at the look of the food. After all, for sushi the look is as important as the taste and the mouth feel. It's an edible art form unlike the rolled burritos and fried tacos she's used to making.

Juana also spies a help-wanted sign in the window of the sushi restaurant and gets a back-kitchen position. However, she dreams of making sushi out in front behind the sushi counter. The movie's story is all about her efforts to get there despite many obstacles at the restaurant and at home.

This is a very inspiring film of grit and determination. If it were a western, Juana would be wielding a gun and a Bowie knife. Instead, it's a sushi knife.

Do yourself a favor and go see this film. It was filmed in Oakland on a shoestring budget by an indie filmmaking company and writer-director Anthony Lucero but I think it's as good as anything you'll see from Hollywood.

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. xD

Oh 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

I approached screen time with cynicism. "What can this movie show me that I don't already know?" The answers came quickly and sustained me with sublime surprises.

Flawless acting that is displayed with an authentic, non-acting-documentary-predisposed delivery. It's a gem that permeated into every character. I could not pinpoint a weak performance...

Framed in a thematically predictable outcome, the film delicately balances the contrite notions of gender, culture and ambition with refreshing human authenticity that ultimately defines its redeeming value.

I saw this movie with about 7 new friends. I did not expect much. Boy, was I wrong! From the moment this movie started I identified with Juana (myself being a single mother) and how hard it was to move up in the business world. I remember being paid at least 25% less than men doing my same job (and I mean the EXACT same job).

This movie is a combination of the Karate Kid, Rocky, and a Cooking Contest. That may be oversimplifying it. Truly inspirational for anyone.

Good thing I remembered to grab a handful of Kleenex because I needed at least 3, the girl next to me and the girl next to her. There was even a guy sitting below us who was crying.

I liked everything about the film, the location specific aspect of it, the directing, writing, acting, and the excellent cast. Have recommended it to my friends to be on the lookout to watch back in my hometown of New Orleans.

Can't wait to go see it again.

I'd like to to give this a better review, but I have to hold back. The story and message are important, but to me, the execution was lacking.

I understand that this film had an extremely low budget, so they did a good job at producing something of merit with their limited resources. But I can't help but feel that this underdog story has been told many times before.

Yes, iterations of these stories are important, and they can shine a light on important social issues.

Especially in the Trump era, this sort of intercultural celebration hits home and is encouraging to see. I also really liked the celebration of learning in this film as well: learning languages, cultures, cuisine, and the interpolations of a hybrid Mexican-Japanese-American dynamic.

But for me, the acting, music, and writing veered more towards ideas that have already been explored, and less towards unique perspectives on the important social aspects that should always be showcased.

Just my 2 cents.