Greetings,
It has been about a month since I first saw this little documentary. I was drawn to it because of the title. See, I like coffee, so a movie called The Perfect Cappuccino seemed right up my alley. I had never even heard of this and, therefore, had no idea what to expect. I just dove right on in and watched. Was it worth it? Let's find out.
The Perfect Cappuccino is about one woman's search for . . . the perfect cappuccino. Surprise! The woman in question is Amy Ferraris, and while that search was the basis for this film, it actually expands into something bigger.
Amy loves coffee, and she LOVES a good cappuccino. However, she has a problem finding that cappuccino anywhere in America. You may think that this is a snobby and unpatriotic attitude, but, newsflash, what you get at a gas station is not a good cappuccino. She knew this already, but a trip to Italy broadened her mind and taste buds even more. In Italy, not surprisingly, really good coffee is not a rarity. It's commonplace. No matter where she went, Amy got a really good cappuccino. Here is where we learn a lot about the great care that goes into preparing these drinks. It is seen as something of an art form, and, judging by the end result, it really is. But why should one have to go all the way to Europe for one of these? This led her to travel around America to delve deeply into our coffee culture.
Guess what it was frighteningly inundated by?
Yes, you can probably figure out what brand I am referring to, though, I'm not sure if I'm even allowed to say the name. Watch this movie and you'll know why I am hesitant to do so. Anyway, Amy is not surprised that this is where most Americans get their coffee, but that didn't stop her on her search. This brings us to one of my favorite aspects of the film.
While on her quest of visiting several small coffee shops, she comes across one in Tulsa, Oklahoma called the DoubleShot Coffee Company, on which a big chunk of the plot is centered. It is owned by a guy named Brian and, as far as how to run a business goes, he and his staff have become my heroes. They are there to give people the product that they sell - coffee. One should never go in and ask for some special order drink filled with everything but coffee. I know a lot of places are into the mentality of "the customer is always right", but are they? These guys are the experts, so why would I or anyone go in like we're the ones who know better? We shouldn't. Perhaps, this attitude may be an acquired taste, but they certainly have gotten a faithful clientele. Their customers go there to get real coffee and real people, and they love it. Due to the fact that he only has one store when he probably could have started a chain, you can see that Brian cares far too much about the quality of what he is doing rather than trying to make the most money. It sucks when someone with that much integrity would be considered an outcast in the business world. (P.S. They do have a website where they sell their beans. Check it out and buy something!)
Amy realizes that, though our coffee culture here is dominated by chains, there are some small places popping up all over the country that care deeply about the quality of their product. They are passionate about coffee. Hey, you have to be passionate about something. Why not this?
So is this a good documentary? I would say yes, it is very good. But I think it's good for a lot of reasons that may cause others to have a problem with it. I know that documentaries were and still sometimes are put into the same category of indie films. By that, I mean they are usually low budget films out of which people do not expect much. Recently, though, it seems that a lot of documentaries have "gone Hollywood". Nothing wrong with that, I guess, but I sometimes prefer things a bit more stripped down and real.
This movie almost feels a little like it was made as a student film. I know that may seem like an insult, but it is done so in such an excellent way that this statement turns into a high compliment. You can feel how much of a passion project this was for Amy Ferraris, so much that it's something of a one woman show. That brings me to the fact that she narrates it herself. Normally, with a lot of documentaries, I expect the narrator's voice to be very professional, in other words, analytical and somewhat cold. Amy's voice may not be one you'd expect to narrate a documentary, which means you might have to get used to it, but I love the way it feels as though a friend of mine is telling me a story about the caffeinated adventure she went on. It is precisely that down to earth feeling that makes this film work extremely well for me. And I love that Amy was, I'll say it again, passionate about this and worked hard to make it happen.
Oh, and what about the burning question? Did she find the perfect cappuccino? I'm no spoiler, so you'll just have to watch. Actually, whether you like coffee or not, this is a film worth checking out.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
