The film follows the fortunes and misfortunes of five women working in a beauty salon in Beruit. Instead of being a political film as one may assume, Caramel ditches this and instead opts for more personal look at the women involved.
We are drawn to the women’s romantic, amusing, articulate and sweet-natured characters. This is an easy crowd-pleaser for anyone looking for a entertaining and touching couple of hours in the cinema. It also is a perfect for audience's with an appreciation for exceptional cinematography. Visually, Caramel is bespoke.
The director (Nadine Labaki) herself plays Layale, a woman who finds herself in the midst of a failing relationship with a married man. She also remains blissfully unaware that love could be waiting just around the corner, namely the local policeman and traffic warden.
Her colleagues, meanwhile, face their own dilemmas: Nisrine (Yasmine Al Masri) is desperate to prevent her fiance from finding out that she’s not a virgin on their wedding night, while Rima (Joanna Moukarzel) finds herself hopelessly attracted to a female client.
This is an outstanding piece of film, as soon as it begins you can almost taste, touch and smell everything that is on screen. From the infectious love that these women share to the bitter sweet realities that each of them are facing.
Think Sex and The City minus the obsession with men and sex. Instead the film offers a subtle taster of life for these seemingly average women. The lives and characters of these diverse and endearing women is a must see.
The film’s title is derived from the homemade caramel used to wax its client’s legs at traditional beauty salons in the Middle East. It was also Lebanon’s official submission to the Best Foreign Language Film Category of the 80th Annual Academy Awards.
8/10
1 comment:
this film sounds incredible, Can't wait to go and see it!
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