Patisserie Coin De Rue: Tragedy & Triumph in the Pursuit of Perfection

I saw this lovely Japanese movie, a drama about a cute bakery in Tokyo, that specializes in affordable but top end patisseries. 

This one falls into “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” but for cakes. I love Japan and I love cakes. I was originally pulled in by the beautiful shots of how pastries are being made. But the human drama was excellent. 

The big lessons from the movie was that of persistence, obsession and keeping high standards in the pursuit of excellence. The hard work, the early mornings, all the mistakes to get to a high level. 

That and the high personal price one pays for pursuing excellence. In the movie, one of the main characters loses his young daughter to a tragic accident, due to being late in picking her up because of his obsession at work. As a father, that scene was devastating to me personally. I still shudder when I think of it, it’s so heartbreaking. 

But there were so many wonderful scenes of how a simple cake made with love could bring so much joy and happiness to people. How it can be a solace to someone. 

As quoted in the movie, “when you are doing what you love, it shows.” I guess that is the ultimate lesson. If you can make or do something that brings joy to someone you should do it. And if you are lucky enough to be able to do this, then you have found your craft and place in this world.