A fun indie film about food and culture

jen-lynx

Oakland, California is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the U.S. Over 100 different languages are spoken in the region. In "East Side Sushi", we see two of those cultures collide in the most time honored tradition, over food.

Juana Martinez, a single mom, and her father run a fresh fruit cart, a staple in Hispanic street food, that is when they aren't working their other jobs. Urban life has its drawbacks and when Juana gets robbed, she decides a change is needed. She takes a chance and answers a help wanted sign in a Japanese restaurant. She lands the job, discovers the passion of sushi, and sets out to become a sushi chef herself. As a Hispanic woman, this proves to be a more a difficult task than one might presume.

"East Side Sushi" is a feel good story, at times hilariously funny, made on a shoestring budget, and as such has no money for advertising campaigns. Relying on word of mouth, it is finally being released in theaters, at least in California. If you like food, particularly Mexican and/or Japanese, if you live in or near Oakland, CA or just like urban themed dramas, or if you like good independent cinema, then I recommend this film. It is not a perfect film, sometimes feeling a little forced and a couple of scenes seem unlikely, but it has great pacing, some wonderful characters, a fun sense of humor and really brings out the beauty of the city across the bay.

score 8/10

jen-lynx 23 September 2015

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3322505/