Bitter coffee = Secangkir kopi pahit

In one of his finest works, Teguh Karya takes an inside look at the lives of working-class ethnic Bataks in Indonesia through the film’s main character, Togar. The film opens with Togar being arrested after his wife has drowned, with the remainder of the film being told in flashbacks. The story unfolds with Togar having gone to Jakarta to pursue his ambition of being a journalist and meeting an older divorced woman at a local foodstall. He is subsequently forced to marry her when it turns out she is pregnant, only to find out later the child might not be his. He forgives his wife however and takes her, together with her children, back to his village in Jogjakarta to meet his mother, the setting of the unfortunate drowning accident. The film provides an interesting window into the lives of many such Indonesians like Togar as well as the city of Jakarta and its influence on those that live there. Cast includes Rina Hassim, Ray Sahetapy, Dewi Yull and Alex Komang. In Indonesian with English subtitles.