Café com Amor

I watch tons of films of all sorts and time after time I am left feeling like 'I've seen this before'. That being the case, I had no idea what to expect from Cafe. To my surprise, this little indie flick turned out to be unlike anything I've ever seen. On the one hand, it is a slice of life--seeing the whole world in a Cafe setting with great entangled characters--strangers, friends and family. On the other hand, we are plunged into story about the game of life, questions about the ultimate nature of reality, free will and self-sacrifice. This film is both fun to watch and thought provoking to say the least. It demands audience participation and as the days go by since I saw it, I find it staying with me--which is more than i can say for 90+% of films out there. This is a film that will age well and I think a lot people will find it a refreshing and rewarding experience.

(2010) Café DRAMA/ SCIENCE-FICTION

At the start of the movie, gunshots are being heard from an independent Café shop, and then the real story switches back starting one week earlier, starting from a Sunday. It revolves around a café joint and the people that go to it. It consists a bunch of nobody's because much of the characters doesn't seem to have anything to do with the gunshots that occurred at the beginning. Some of the characters include a person writing a book, two people meeting from a theater, except the man already has a ring on his finger, a drug addict as well as the drug seller(Jamie Kennedy). And the most bizarre one of all, something that was already been done already called "The Matrix", in which a young 10 or 12 year old girl is seen talking like an adult, telling an overweight man on a lap top that he's a made up person called an 'Avatar'. She tries to instruct him to do something, and he doesn't listen. Both Claire (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Todd (Daniel Eric Gold) are the only people who work at the Café shop, with the peculiar thing that they don't know what their boss look like. I mean, it's like how do they even get paid if they don't know what their boss even look like. Anyways, the film was written and directed by Marc Erlbaum, who may have came up the idea by watching "The Matrix" from his laptop, while drinking coffee at Starbucks.

I occasionally find these movies that most people won't have heard of and will have no interest to see, yet shine as gems in their own right. The criteria I use for determining when these small, indie films make my list is that they take a risk and show a level of creativity that mainstream films have abandoned. Recently I have found an interesting class of these films that I call the indie film with the unexpected sci-fi twist. Café is one of these.

I didn't read the reviews or know the tagline to be forewarned what this movie is about. I have to say, not only was I intrigued, but extremely pleasantly surprised. I am not going to rehash the details of the plot but suffice it to say, if you are a movie lover sitting at home looking for a pleasant way to stretch your imagination and spawn a post viewing discussion, this one is for you.

Recently I found two others I considered similar in this class of film. "Safety not Guaranteed" and "The Sound of My Voice" were two other films that fell into this personal class of interesting film. Take the plunge and try these original films!

Cafe (2011)

A simple seeming story with a couple of otherworldly (computer reality) twists that gradually works on your sympathies and wins.

Except for a brief exterior giving the sense of place (West Philadelphia) and two or three other very minor exceptions, the entire movie is shot in a coffee shop. A surprisingly large cast of characters take on some significance. And the dreamy idealism of exactly those kinds of independent cafés permeates the movie. The ostensible driving force is the appearance now and then of a nasty guy who deals drugs and the reaction against him by others in the place and the police. But really the movie is more about character, and what makes character, and what makes some people good and whether that kind of goodness is real.

After awhile you also realize that one weird subplot--the appearance of a girl on a computer scree--is maybe the most important aspect of all. Because she helps redefine what reality is--not just the so-called reality of people's lives, but reality reality, ontologically. It's obviously too much to swallow, but just go with it, it's fun.

What holds it up most of all might just be the really solid acting from most of the main characters. And the sweetness the seems to permeate the movie through and through. It's low-budget but keeps it confident and well made anyway. It's a good excuse for hanging out with some nice people.

I've never written a review before and maybe I shouldn't. I've started so no turning back now. Did one person write the story line(s) or a group? I say this because nothing flowed. I watched the movie out of bored curiosity to pass time. I would not recommend this movie to anyone else. Why? Well, Because the whole view of Christianity is incorrect. Entirely misunderstood.

The description of the movie, on Netflix, states "Claire serves wisdom along with the coffee and scones." definitely not true. She only serves coffee, no wisdom. The only character who slightly hints at giving out wisdom is Ellie, even though her so called wisdom isn't wisdom at all.

The movie did pass the time, but I was in awe that it was even put out in the market for the public to purchase. Just shows it is who you know, not what you know that moves our world.