"Nobu" Review

 You know you've made it to the top tiers of culture when you're referred to by just your first name and everyone knows who is being referred to like Madonna, Cher, Oprah, Woody, Bruce, and Nobu. Wait, No WHO? Oh, you're not familiar with Nobu Matsuhisa, the proprietor of Matsuhisa restaurant in LA and partner with Robert De Niro and others in a globe-spanning empire of restaurants and hotels which bear his name: Nobu? Well, if you watch the slick documentary Nobu, you will know a bit more about him.

Starting in his post-war childhood in Japan, the doc briskly recaps his life, how he got into making sushi and how being sent to Peru to open a restaurant exposed him to local flavors and ingredients that he integrated into his food to create a new fusion. His early years were fraught with disappointments and disaster, such as when the restaurant he'd partnered on in Alaska burned down, an event which would turn out to be the best thing that could've happened.

Relocating to Los Angeles, he opened a small (only 38 seats) Matsuhisa where he quickly developed a following in the elite LA celebrity foodie scene. In 1988, De Niro first came there, brought by The Killing Fields director Roland Joffee, and after more visits when he was in town, broached the subject of opening a spot in NYC's Tribeca District where De Niro had opened the Tribeca Grill. Nobu demurred because he wanted to focus on securing his home base. But when De Niro asked again four years later, he felt the time was right and signed onto the partnership which launched Nobu in NYC and has since expanded to over 56 restaurants, hotel and other ventures as it became a luxury brand as much as a restaurant.

In fact, much of Nobu feels like propaganda for Nobu Hospitality, the corporation, rather than a documentary about Nobu the man himself. It would be easy to write off the whole exercise except for a few segments. One shows him visiting one of his locations and repeatedly ordering a chef to remake a dish because if fails to meet his precise standards. Another shows De Niro quite exasperated that his partners have signed deals for new outposts that seem more intended to make a quick buck than thoughtfully serve the brand ideals. (While De Niro has been mostly phoning in his acting for years and his Trump Derangement Syndrome is at Stage 12, he comes off as a savvy businessman while Nobu is mostly silent.) 

Finally, there is a heartbreaking passage when relates that when he returned to his Japanese home for his traditional month's stay and he called his best friend who seems troubled, he didn't press the issue. When he called back the next day he reached his friend's wife who informed Nobu he'd committed suicide the previous night. Nobu's guilt at not noticing his friend's state has prevented him from visiting his grave until he does so in the movie.

It's natural to compare Nobu to the far better Jiro Dreams of Sushi, but there was more insight into the latter's subject than we get here. It's interesting, but too slick and promotional to really fill the viewer up.

Score: 5/10. Catch it on cable/streaming. (Currently on Prime Video)