Book adaptation “Cafe Funiculi Funicula” asks a question which not a lot of time-travel movies have dared to ask themselves. What good is time travel when you can’t change the past? Starring Kasumi Arimura as the barista whose heritage gives her the power to serve time travel inducing coffee, “Cafe Funiculi Funicula” plunges the viewers into 4 mini stories. The coffee shop owned by Kazu Tokita (Kasumi Arimura) and her cousin Nagare Tokita (Motoki Fukami) might seem like your regular Japanese coffee shop: serving hot and iced coffee, Melon cream soda (melon soda topped with ice cream) and an array of parfaits. Frequented by your regular salary men, high school kids and the usual neighbourhood crowd, most just came to enjoy a few moments of quiet or chatter with their companions. But some, some came drawn in by the rumor. The rumor which says that if you sit in a particular chair, you will be able to travel back in time. But oh hold on, it’s never that easy. There are rules attached to time travel in every universe. And “Cafe Funiculi Funicula” is no different:
- You can only travel back to a point in time at which you were at the cafe
- You cannot change the past
- Only one seat is able to transport you and you have to wait until its unoccupied
- You cannot leave the cafe
- You have to finish your coffee before it gets cold
Rule number 5 is the most important one. If you want to return to the present it is. For if you overstay in the past, you will be forever stuck in that seat. Well not forever. There are toilet breaks it seems. At the point the story begins, a woman almost continuously occupies the seat. And she has more similarities to a ghost than to the humans around her.
But still, diligence wins and there are customers who make it on the chair and back into time. One after the other they face their past regrets. And then shape their present in a new way, by leaving the old wounds behind. Main character and watcher Kazu is no exemption from this. As she herself put her life “on hold” and has resorted to just being a barista, her life is restarted. With the help and influence of Ryosuke Shintani (Kentaro Ito) she starts anew and learns to let go of her past.
Thoughts
One thing I very much enjoyed about this movie and script was, that no matter how little or how much time it spends on its characters, they always felt well developed. Which is also due to the excellent acting of most of the cast. And the choices made by the director/actors. The character of Yo Yoshida for example pulls out swimming goggles and ear plugs for her dive into the past, which was quite a fit for her well – prepared and pragmatical character. The relationships between the characters felt real and appropriate for the amount of time they were supposed to know each other.
The way Kasumi’s Kazu developed felt like a nice analogy. Stuck in the past, she becomes able to “tick” again in the present – like one of the wall clocks used to emphasize time in the movie. She starts to participate in life. Whereas in the beginning she seems quite serene and even a bit all – knowing, as the movie continues we see her facing her own pain.
The visualization of the time travel itself was maybe not the most innovative, but did flow well with the style and theme of the movie. We see time slow down as the hot water is being poured into the coffee filter, the steam slowly rose and condensed water droplets fell down. After which the time traveler is plunged into the set of the coffee shop filled with water, while the paintings in the background show past events at said shop.
- (c) “Cafe Funiculi Funicula” Production Committee
The only thing I really disliked, was the choice made for the ending. There is a “breaking the 4th wall” – segment at the end, where the time travelers address the audience directly. Though I understand the purpose of it – to further drive home the message to enjoy the here and now – I found it quite ill fitting and out of place for this movie.
“Cafe Funiculi Funicula” didn’t make me cry 4 times as promised on the movie poster, but it managed to 3 times. Apparently, that makes me an awfully mushy viewer according to this review. But if you enjoy heartfelt movies about how to move on from your regrets and take charge of your future, I’m sure you will enjoy this movie – even though the coffee is sometimes so bitter it makes you tear up.
Did you watch “Cafe Funiculi Funicula”? Or are you planning to? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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