Book Adaptation: Before Coffee Get Cold

What film or series are you currently watching?

Last week I discussed the book Funiculi Funicula: Before The Coffee Gets Cold. This time I want to discuss the adaptation of the book into a film, where there are many major differences between the book and the film.

As I mentioned in the previous book review, the packaging and storytelling style of the author should have been made interesting. I should have been able to read the collection of stories of the customers of the Funiculi Funicula cafe in a few days, but because the storytelling is not very detailed, I had difficulty finding interest in this book. Or maybe I'm just not used to reading works by Japanese authors.
But this time I want to talk about the film Before The Coffee Gets Cold

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The film Before The Coffee Gets Cold was directed by Ayuko Tsukahara and written by the novelist, Toshikazu Kawaguchi. The film stars Kasumi Arimura, Motoki Fukami, Haru, Kentaro Ito, Yoh Yoshida, and Yoriko Ishida as the main characters. Just like the book, the film tells the story of a cafe that can take you to the past called Funiculi Funicula.

The cafe is owned by Nagare Tokita and a waiter named Kazu Tokita. Unlike Nagare who is expressive, Kazu has a cold, expressionless, and lonely personality. Yes, apart from Nagare Tokita who is his only relative, Kazu has no one.

• The Story of Lovers

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The film opens with Fumiko anxiously waiting for the woman in the white dress to get up from her seat because she wants to go to the past to find out Goro's feelings for her. She competes with Shintani who is also curious about the legend of the chair that can take someone to the past. Fumiko waits until the cafe is almost closed, she has already fallen asleep in her chair. However, finally, the woman in the white dress gets up to go to the toilet. Kazu wakes up Fumiko who immediately rushes to sit on the sacred chair. After explaining all the rules, Kazu pours coffee which Fumiko immediately drinks. She can finally go to the past and talk to Goro.

• The Story of Husband and Wife

The next story is about Fusaki who faithfully picks up his wife Tokate at the Funiculi Funicula Café. Tokate is a wife who suffers from Alzheimer's, so she forgets her purpose of going to the café, which is to give a letter to her husband in the past. However, because of her illness she even forgets Fusaki as her husband, Tokate forgets that she is waiting for the legendary chair to be empty. Then one night Kazu tells Fusaki that Tokate wants to give a letter that was never given to Fusaki. Kazu also encourages Fusaki to go to the past and find out about the letter. Coinciding with the conversation, the woman in the white dress gets up from her chair. Fusaki returns to the past where Tokate still remembers him.

• The Story of Sisters

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Hirai is an older brother who has avoided meeting his younger sister, Kumi. Hirai knows that his younger sister will always come to ask him to come home. Then one day, Hirai finds out that Kumi had a car accident after coming home from a café, and died. Hirai is very sad and hopes to go back to the past to bring his sister back to life. Although he knows that the future will not change even if he goes back to the past, Hirai tries to go back to the past to meet his sister. In the past, Hirai also finds out that what Kumi wants is not what he thought all this time. His regret deepens.

• The Story of Mother and Daughter

It is told in the film that the woman in the white dress who sits on the legendary chair is Kazu's mother who died dozens of years ago, when Kazu was still a child. That is the reason behind Kazu's cold attitude all this time because she thought her mother went to see her father and did not return. On the other hand, Kazu is in a relationship with Shintani and when their relationship gets closer, Kazu finds out that she is pregnant. The pregnancy makes Kazu even more curious about whether her mother used to love her. In the midst of his anxiety, a little girl from the future comes to help Kazu go to the past and talk to her mother.

• A Review and How the Movie had A Big Difference From The Book

When I watched the movie, I was a bit surprised because it was very different from the book. The theme may be the same in general, but there are some different details, such as the character of Kei, Nagare's wife who was removed. A character that was not in the book appeared, namely Shintani, who later had a relationship with Kazu and in the future became Kazu's husband and had a daughter named Miki. That was clearly a striking difference.

In addition, the story of the Husband and Wife, Fusaki and Tokate is clearly different because in the book the one who suffers from Alzheimer's is Fusaki, not Tokate. But in general, the story is still the same.

Sometimes, adapting a book into a movie will not be the same. It is useful to break the imagination of previous readers and make an interesting show. But for this movie, it would be fun if there were no characters removed, and Kazu was not the girl who would give birth to Miki. Just like the book, this movie has a gloomy and boring tone.

Thanks for reading my blog, hope you enjoy it!