Reflective Encounters

“If Gregor Samsa had awoken in his insectoid state in the modern day, then maybe he would have been able to bypass his unhelpful family and ask Google to explain his metamorphoses. Yet one feels that Kafka’s infamous protagonist would find himself as disconnected from reality as he did in the early 20th century. Whilst we live in a world of globalisation and endless connection, it’s easy to feel as if we somehow don’t fit in, one step removed from what passes for ‘normal’ in today’s and age.

Sebastian Łach’s fable Four Cups of Coffee or Three (it’s very title redolent with the uncertainty at the heart of the film) explores this feeling of disconnection as the protagonist explores the strange notion that she isn’t quite herself. Whatever ‘herself’ actually is.

Much of the film takes a naturalistic approach, and it certainly initially appears as if we’ll be heading down a narratively staid route. But the rug is soon pulled out from under us as Łach begins to ply us with a gentle air of oddness that becomes ever more prevalent. While there is a sense of humour throughout, everything is suffused with a tinge of existential angst as the absurdity of the everyday is laid bare.”

— Laurence Boyce