Today my daughter, Jacqueline, started a new blog called Java Journey. She (still de-caf) and I will visit a new coffee shop each weekend, and rate it. She, however is the complete creative force behind the blog so it should be fun. Our shared love of coffee got me thinking about movie scenes that happen in a Coffee or Tea shop. Instantly, I thought of the film "Brief Encounter," David Lean's first directorial full screen effort, based on a Noel Coward one-act play. Like the play, the film's Tea Room (called the 'refreshment room' very Brit) is actually a spot for folks to meet and or rest for their next train. It is here, while waiting for their connection to two different London suburbs that our couple meet.
They share some conversation, tea and time together and accidentally fall in love. The problem, they are both happily married to other people. They never consummate their love, but the looks over their Tea cups is rather thrilling. This last scene where he (Trevor Howard) must say good-bye to his new love (Cecilia Johnson) is particularly special. The acting is quite something, so much is said beneath the surface dialogue. The set is so nuanced, the table linen, the cups and saucers, the decorative spoon with the sugar cube down to the Men's hats and the Women's gloves, hinting to a post war England, that no longer exists. Tea never caught on in America the way coffee has, but in cinema if you are watching a movie about Brits, you will undoubtedly still have at some point someone taking a moment to share a spot of Tea.
So, check out Jacqueline's blog (still under construction a tad) at http://javajourneyblog.blogspot.com/
Then watch this lovely film, "Brief Encounter."
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