Café Express (1980)

This week the A-to-Z Part Deux challenge presents us with the letter “U” and Umberto Turco (Production Designer). Umberto has been a Production Designer on twenty-four different films but the one we will be looking at this week is…Café Express (1980).

Title: Café Express

Director: Nanni Loy

Released: February 16, 1980 (Italy)

Runtime: 1 hour 40 minutes

Available to stream on: Prime & Youtube

Michele Abbagnano (Nino Manfredi) spends his nights on the trains that run from Vallo della Lucania and Naples. No, he doesn’t work on the train, at least not legally. You see, Michele aggressively sells coffee to the passengers from flasks he hides in a basket. A basket that also includes stolen sugar packets.

One might think that the passengers would grow annoyed with Michele and his nightly shenanigans, however, quite the opposite is true. Turns out that Michele is quite the salesman. He doesn’t go car to car with the same pitch for coffee. Instead, he frames each conversation specifically to each passenger, winning them over individually.

But if the act of selling coffee on the train is illegal, why is Michele going through all the trouble night after night? Well, his son unfortunately suffers from a heart condition and Michele is doing this to hopefully afford surgery to provide his son with a normal and healthy life.

Things seem to be trending in the right direction for Michele when all of a sudden, the Ministry of Transports decides to step in. They have ordered local conductors to end Michele’s coffee sales once and for all.

Will the conductors be successful in their bid to take down Michele?

Or will Michele succeed in earning enough to pay for his son’s surgery?

Had it not been for Season 1 of The Video Archives Podcast with Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary, I wouldn’t have known that Café Express (1980) even existed. Luckily, when trying to find a crew member for the letter “U”, I was able to kill two birds with one stone and cross this one off my watchlist.

Now if you haven’t seen Café Express (1980) before, you have two options currently available to stream it. On Prime Video, you have a VHS transfer that has been dubbed in English. Your other option is a Youtube stream from The Digital Archives, this version has better picture quality as well as original Italian audio, but no English subtitles. The choice is yours depending on how well you are able to understand the Italian language.

As for the movie itself, there isn’t too much to say. It’s a very simple story and if I go into too much of what happens after what I outlined in my synopsis, it’ll spoil everything.

However, I will say that it is an enjoyable experience. Nino Manfredi transitions seamlessly from lighthearted comedy to a few rather intense dramatic scenes. Overall, Café Express (1980) gets in and gets out without overstaying its welcome. If you’ve got some time to kill, this is one worth checking out.

So, what did you think? If you’ve seen Café Express (1980), tell me your thoughts in the comments below or on social media!

Keep track of everything else I’m watching over on Letterboxd.

Well, we only have five more installments left. This Wednesday on Bluesky and Threads/Instagram look for a preview of who and what we’ll be covering for the letter “V”.