Filosofi Kopi (2015) Reviews

• A bit slow, some tendency towards melodrama, but charming and sincere

  moulson2016-07-08

  The film tells the story of two friends who grew up together, Ben and Jody, as they struggle to manage a funky little specialty coffee shop in Jakarta (Filosofi Kopi) that Jody has inherited together with a pile of debt. While Jody handles the business side of things, Ben is the (often-precious) creative genius who really understands both the aesthetics and the philosophy of coffee. The success of the enterprise hinges on Ben's brewing the best house coffee in Indonesia. The backstories of the main characters are explored as the pressure increases, and tensions rise between the two of them. The film is not exactly action packed---it's a bit slow at times---but the dialogues are well-structured and realistic and the acting is good. The movie starts out particularly strong, but tends a little towards melodrama in the last half when the backstories of the main characters are developed. Overall, the story line is charming in its sincerity. The movie is visually strong: the recreation of the environment of the coffee shop and the nice exterior shots of the coffee plantations of Indonesia are particularly notable.