Ice Cold: Murder, Coffee and Jessica Wongso – Netflix Review (2/5)

ICE COLD: MURDER, COFFEE AND JESSICA WONGSO on Netflix is a new true crime documentary about a crazy trial. Unfortunately, the documentary is a mess. Read our full Ice Cold: Murder, Coffee and Jessica Wongso documentary review here!

ICE COLD: MURDER, COFFEE AND JESSICA WONGSO is a new Netflix true crime documentary that tries to shed “new light” on a trial from 2016. It was called Indonesia’s “Trial of the Century” and watched as a sort of true crime soap opera. How and why it became such a popular viewing experience is still a mystery.

Yes, even after watching the trial. Except for constantly comparing it to the OJ Simpson trial and stating that he was of course famous, which could explain the interest, this Indonesian trial isn’t really dramatic. In fact, whether there’s even been a murder is never proven. What is obvious – and the focus of the Netflix documentary – is that the trial is a mockery of justice.

Continue reading our Ice Cold: Murder, Coffee and Jessica Wongso documentary review below. Find it on Netflix from September 28, 2023.

The case of the century – in Indonesia

Calling this the case of the century is a bit wild. I mean, yes, the interest was huge, but the case itself is virtually non-existent in terms of evidence. Not that this keeps the accused out of jail.

The true crime case has to do with the murder of Mirna Salihin. The accused is Jessica Wongso, her friend, who is currently serving time in an Indonesian prison. Jessica supposedly put cyanide in Mirna’s iced coffee, but there’s no actual evidence that proves this.

In fact, there’s no real proof that Mirna even died from cyanide poisoning. Not any that we hear in this documentary. Quite the opposite. Also, there’s talk of the ice coffee smelling awful which doesn’t really jive with the whole cyanide thing. Not that this is really talked about in the documentary which is just one strange thing.

Overall, the documentary is just very lacking in many things and tends to skip lots of details that are otherwise interesting.

Crazy trial and a messy documentary

I would love to watch a more focused documentary about this case as it is extremely interesting. As it stands in this documentary, the true crime case is described in a very messy way. The timeline is all over the place and rumors are mentioned but not followed up on.

Even the interviews are sometimes just a minute and a sentence or two. That’s it. You never hear from the person again. In this particular case, I’m thinking of the husband of the woman murdered. Or who possibly died a natural death. No one can tell for sure as the evidence isn’t available.

It was a trial broadcast live on Indonesian television as the first ever. Obviously, this has a lot to do with why it was such a big deal and public spectacle. Even the courtroom was a joke with people cheering and shouting. It’s scary to think that this happened less than ten years ago.

Watch Ice Cold: Murder, Coffee and Jessica Wongso on Netflix now!

Rob Sixsmith is the documentary filmmaker behind Ice Cold: Murder, Coffee and Jessica Wongso. Usually, I would hate that the title is all about the accused murderer and not the murder victim. However, in this particular case, it makes sense. As a whole, I found this Netflix documentary to be fascinating, but also desperately messy and lacking in details.

Sure there are interviews with the father and twin sister of Mirna Salihin, which are key people related to the victim. The twin sister is only in a few minutes, while the father is practically the star of the whole thing, especially in his own world. He’s quite a character. Actually, he says several things that are scary.

Also, there are interviews with Jessica’s lawyer, the public prosecutors, and various journalists who covered the case. Finally, there are interviews with a few of those I don’t think belong in any true crime documentary; The “case enthusiasts“. Basically, fanboys, who feel like they know what the truth is.

The filmmakers also managed to get one short on-camera interview with Jessica Wongso herself. The interview is while she’s in prison and is cut short before all official on-camera communication with her is banned. It’s just one of the stranger things and yet another example of how justice is hampered for Jessica Wongso. And the victim in this case, whose death we’ll never know the whole truth of.

Ice Cold: Murder, Coffee and Jessica Wongso is streaming on September 28, only on Netflix.