It
happened under the radar, but Pu’er and the surrounding Yunnan region have made
China one of the world leaders in boutique coffee harvesting. Coffee roasting
and distribution is still an important industry in Trieste, Italy, so the kind
bean somewhat logically supplies common ground for the first ever
Chinese-Italian co-production. So how does that relate to Antwerp? Maybe if
they drank more coffee there, they would have the energy to find a job, instead
of resorting to looting during riots. Regardless, these three
not-really-connected stories are like Babel,
but with more caffeine. Coffee plays an important role in the lives of all
three protagonists in Cristiano Bortone’s Coffee
(trailer
here), which opens tomorrow in Los Angeles.
Hamed
is a naturalized Belgian pawnbroker, who treats all his customers with unprofitable
compassion. Alas, the ugly Occupy-style mob could care less as it tears through
the urban center of Antwerp. Hamed is understandably distressed to find his
shop has been completely looted, including the antique coffee pot that has been
in his family for generations. However, the unemployable Vincent left behind
his wallet. The inevitable confrontation will not go well for anyone.
Meanwhile,
Renzo and his pregnant girlfriend Gaia move to Trieste, hoping to find specialized
employment in the coffee industry. Although is buddy fixes him up with a
warehouse job, Renzo soon falls in with the wrong crowd, particularly Enrico,
who hatches a ridiculous scheme to steal a shipment of ultra-exclusive beans.
That
exotic coffee originally hailed from Yunnan, as did Ren Fei. He has since found
corporate success in Beijing, especially after his engagement to the chairman’s
daughter. After years in the capitol, Ren Fei must now return to assure the Pu’er
factory quickly returns to production after a minor accident. Rather inconveniently,
he discovers the facility is a ticking time bomb that could potentially contaminate
the whole valley if more extensive repairs are not made. He has his orders, bur
his conscience is pricked by A Fang, an artist and boutique coffee
entrepreneur, who might just be his long-lost childhood friend.
By
far, the best strands of Coffee are
those set in Yunnan, which are wistfully lyrical. The Antwerp segments also
have a gritty, naturalistic intensity to them. Rather oddly, Bortone’s Italian
sequences are the weakest of the film, largely because Renzoi and Gaia are
dull, uninvolving characters, but the stupidity of the would-be caper does not
help either.
Hichem
Yacoubi is terrific as Hamed, in a harrowingly intense kind of way. Zhuo Tan truly
lights up the screen as A Fang, developing some sweetly chaste chemistry with Lu
Fangsheng’s Ren Fei. Alas, Dario Aita and company in Trieste just don’t measure
up to their Antwerp and Pu’er colleagues.
On
the plus side, the production values are first-rate. Teho Teardo’s score is
distinctively melancholy, while maintaining a buoyantly propulsive mid-tempo.
Likewise, cinematographer Vladan Radovic gives it all a lush, sparkling look,
fully capitalizing on the cinematic potential of Pu’er’s verdant vistas. As a work
of cinema, it is definitely inconsistent, but there is enough good stuff to
leave viewers craving a rich cup of Joe. Recommended on balance, Coffee opens tomorrow (2/9) in LA, at
the Laemmle Royal.
