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Caramel (2007)

Director: Nadine Labaki

Time Out rating

Average user rating

12 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

Take sugar, water and lemon juice, mix it up and you’ve got Beirut’s favourite depilatory product, a sticky goo which removes feminine hair, though not without a certain struggle. Such is the eponymous ‘Caramel’ in actor-writer-director Nadine Labaki’s delightful first feature, an ensemble drama that explores the secret world of a Lebanese beauty parlour where the women struggle to make the best of a society which so often limits their options.

Labaki herself plays the thirtysomething daughter from a Christian family, who should of course be off their hands by now – except she’s having a secret affair with a married man. Her Muslim co-workers meanwhile have problems of their own, including a bride desperate to hide the fact that she’s not quite as virginal as her in-laws would like to believe, and a tomboy-ish type whose only apparent outlet for her sexual longings is delivering creamy scalp massage to an obviously colluding female client.

In surroundings of faded would-be glamour, Lebanon’s bloody recent history and religious tensions barely get much of a look-in, since the film prioritises personal intrigues, played out by a largely non-professional cast (the mad old ladies next door are particular treasure) who bring an impeccable authenticity to the proceedings. Labaki’s direction favours an affectionate amble: her screenplay throws up few genuine surprises, yet this is, frankly, a lovely film. Insisting on the bittersweet buzz of tiny female victories in the fraught milieu she describes as ‘my Beirut’, it’s lovingly shaped and deeply felt, a happy-sad charmer which deserves a wide audience.

Author: Trevor Johnston

Time Out London Issue 1969, May 15-21

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User reviews of this film

Val said...

Posted on Mar 02 2011 21:53 Delightful film and I love sound in world cinema even if I don't speak that language. Beautiful, funny, empathic and real to them and many people. I was very entertained.

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soccerfannow said...

Posted on Jun 16 2010 13:47 A boring film about the life of a homosexual person (among other stories) in the middle east culture. Who cares! Couldn't they pick another story, silly.

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Gary said...

Posted on Jul 06 2008 23:12 A wonderful true to life movie about friends and relationships. Much better than "Venus Beauty Institute"

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carly said...

Posted on Jun 08 2008 09:08 a gentle movie which i thourghly enjoyed...went with all of my family all generations and we all loved it!!

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usman khawaja said...

Posted on Jun 03 2008 14:43 in a way it is rather sweet but the plot is so wafer thin you almost hope it will spring a surprise on you but it just plods on with the lives or rather the affairs of 4 womemn,the best is the muslim nasrine who has to have a vaginoplasty to forfeit her marriage as she is no longer a virgin,that was novel,nadines is having an affair with a married man which is very trite and it takes too much screen time with the cliched conclusion of her finding the real man of her dreams ,the male characters are vacuous and treated as just dumb virile handsome men as the cop who flirts with nadine or nisrines husband to be ,
the funniest scene comes when nisrine and hassam are arrested by a cop on indecency charges and it becomes a satire on social values and attitudes ,but moments like those are rare ,
the subplot of rose and lucy is rather undeveloped and the suggested lesbian innuendo is not developed at all ,though it is plain enough but the movie fails to get into the mind of any character and also does not give any insight to the reality of living in beirut with the political turmoil ,
yet it is dedicated to beirut but it could have been a beauty parlour anywhere in the world ,
the women here are well acted and directed ,well shot but they do not make you more then chuckle ,or it maybe that this is a female -oriented movie as the word feminist is too strong for these otherwise fair creatures,it was fun when the cop finally decided to go for a beauty treatment and everything ended well ,but if you are a man and expect too much from this slight social comic satire you might be a trifle disappointed like me .
the problem also lies with the dialogue being in both arab and french and i suppose the wit and fun is lost in the subtitles as the timing of the actors is better appreciated in a comedy if you comprehend the language .
nevertheless worth a look for the acting alone .- jbz7879

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Pfs. said...

Posted on May 26 2008 22:43 What a fantastic film, that I went into with no preconceptions and left feeling delighted to have shared such intimate moments. This is what great cinema can be without big budgets or cgi, this just has talent and it's enough. Caramel made my night and weekend.

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Rosie said...

Posted on May 18 2008 23:07 A truly wonderful film & just what i needed on a Sunday evening. It was entertaining, funny, and in parts sad. I would highly recommend this film

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tony said...

Posted on May 16 2008 20:21 it is an amazing movie tackling social problems in a very refreshing way .must see

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Laura V said...

Posted on May 14 2008 22:19 Really sweet, lovely film. Lots of touching moments and laugh out loud bitss - mainly at the crazy little old woman. A must-see!

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Hannah said...

Posted on May 14 2008 22:00 Refreshing and endearing
Nadine Labaki has directed a wonderful piece of film and plays the leading lady most convincingly. There is not one character that you could not help relating to.
A must see! A+++

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Marmelade said...

Posted on Apr 21 2008 11:51 Life - funny situations, sad decisions. In Beirut or anywhere else. Good music, beautiful pictures.

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joe said...

Posted on Feb 03 2008 08:23 deserve oscar as foreign movie

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