The fun and inspirational story of five people from around the U.S. who descend on the Culinary Institute of America in NYC to participate in the world’s premiere educational program on distilled spirits and mixology.
Bar is an amazing, intense, and engaging documentary about people trying to become certified world class experts on all things bar and bartending related. It takes place in a five day program at the NYC Culinary Institute of America called the BAR 5-Day Program. The founding members of BAR created a certification for the best bartenders on the education about creating Craft cocktails. The movie introduces us to five of the 78 students training at BAR 5 and follows them throughout the 5 day of intensive training and testing.
The program is intense. The filmmakers really excelled in bringing the viewer into intimate stories of the class and teachers while respecting the intensity all are subject to during the week. This is so good it could have been a scripted film, but it’s all the more impactful for the real stories that are told.
We watch as the staff explains the origins and structure of the class. Days of introduction and training, followed by both practical (mixing drinks, and blind tasting of ingredients) and written exams. The goal is teaching and testing of students, most of whom already have deep knowledge and experience, so they can qualify for one of the certifications that will stand for their world-class experience and qualifications. To walk into any bar in the world and tend it unquestioned.
The movie also spends much of its time with the background crew of BAR graduates that come just to staff and assist with the running of BAR 5. They interviewed many of them to show how BAR 5 has helped their careers. Staff are aided by student workers, part of the class who are assisting in the setup, production, and break down of the five day class while also taking the same tests as those who paid full price. Any one of these could have been the focus of the film, but all together it’s amazing.
After 3 days of up to 16 hours of teaching and preparation, testing begins. The students have to make 6 cocktails in 10 minutes and can only use 4 ingredients, including the garnish. They are given 5 of the required cocktails and then make their own “signature” cocktail.
And the last day is a written test. Although the quietest part of the movie, the filmmakers capture the intensity of the culmination of the class, and the hopes of the students.
The movie ends weeks later, with the filming the 5 students getting their results over Zoom. Again, the documentary crew provides an intimate capstone to these stories. There is comradery between the bartenders, whether students, teachers, or support members. All shared the experience and have an emotional stake in the results. Again, the filming and editing are top notch and never feels intrusive during the movie. A postscript to the film brings us up to date on the further careers of the five focus students and their varied successes.
Cinequest attendees were invited to attend a singular event after the World Premiere of BAR. All were invited to the Paper Plane bar on San Jose’s First Street. It was great to see bartenders at work after enjoying the movie.
Visit Cinequest for show times and to buy tickets.
You can also watch online at Cinejoy! March 24-31, 2025!
Debbie Bretschneider
March 16, 2025
San Jose, California