good film but with many flaws

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

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.

A wonderful surprise from the West Coast!The Port Washington N.Y. library showed this film, which I had never heard of, last night, and I was delighted by the story, the actors and the director's work.This is a film I would recommend to all of my friends. It is very truthful about how real people manage their differences in culture and background. Juana's life as a single mother, and working with her father to support her daughter reflect the experience of many young women I know. This simple story points the way for those who choose to learn about people different from themselves and working together with mutual respect.I was happy to see that the movie avoided so many of the "working with others" clichés. The actors and the director made the story feel authentic and real.

This was a great movie. I would call it the "Rocky" of Sushi Chefs movie. Great story about how a Mexican woman wants to become a Japanese sushi chef but she is of the wrong gender, the wrong race, nor does not have the right credentials (training) to become a sushi chef. It is also a movie about the inter-mixing of cultures, of how Aki, a Japanese sushi chef at the restaurant where Juana works at in the kitchen, comes to recognize Juana's skills. During the course of the movie, Aki develops a professional respect for Juana's culinary skills, and even though she is not Japanese, he goes to bat for her becoming a sushi chef. The movie also intersperses Mexican and Japanese cuisine and culture as well, which I enjoyed. The part where the owner of the Japanese restaurant (a very traditional man who believes only Japanese men can be sushi chefs) changes his attitude toward Juana was very heartwarming for me. It gives me hope that everyone can change when we look at people as people and not as people of a certain ethnicity. I highly recommend this movie.

Normally this is the kind of movie I wouldn't watch or skip over after a few minutes but this has a compelling and different storyline that is wonderful to watch. It's not great film making. Most of the movie comes off like you would expect a low budget film but the movie (to me anyway) is about aspirations and things that get in your way and about stereotypes and prejudices that can keep you from getting ahead. I won't get into the details but for once white people are not the ones portraying the oppressors and it isn't about class struggle but just what real people have to deal with everyday. The actors are not great but for a change they have faces like your neighbors, not Hollywood caricatures. There's so many things about this movie to hate but I couldn't help but like it. I wish Hollywood (or canada) would make more movies like this.