Filed under: Cinemático
I finally got to watch Caramel (2007) last night at a screening by a Lebanese initiative at KSG. It’s a very well-made film, all the more impressive considering that one of the main characters, Layale, was played by director Nadine Labaki herself—which I found out only at the end as the credits were rolling. I think the element that stands out most is the delectable sense of humor that runs throughout the film, and which places it squarely in the genre of comedy. The other thing I felt or imagined was a distinct nostalgic tenor, heightened by the many quiet, pensive moments in the narrative, by a certain use of colors (as in the poster image), and by its attention to inter-generational encounters (most notably with the character of the utterly adorable old woman, Rose’s older sister). In that sense, I think of the film as almost a recounting of a Beiruti belle époque, of a magical but lost era before the long and disastrous Lebanese civil war (although I think the story’s setting is contemporary). It is also rather ironic, as I could not help but keep thinking of as I watched the film, that the shooting for Caramel was apparently finished just nine days before that other recent war, when Israel attacked Lebanon two summers ago. And if you’re following the news this week, Beirut is again in the midst of crisis right now, and the worst fear is that we are on the brink of another civil war.
As most reviews have noted, Caramel is unique in completely ignoring politics: apparently the only Lebanse film that does not speak of conflict. But of course, it would be mistaken to say that it’s not political (is any story ever really apolitical?). Rather, the story of the five women at the heart of the movie appeals to the more universal, the more human story of women’s struggles as women. By showcasing resistance while also locating it in everyday life, imbued with humor, the film ends up being a deeply humanistic portrayal of society. Considering that this is her debut feature film, we should expect more great works from Labaki.
