Caramel (2007)

A romantic comedy centered on the daily lives of five Lebanese women living in Beirut.

Director:

Nadine Labaki

Writers:

Nadine Labaki (idea), Jihad Hojeily (idea)

Stars:

Nadine Labaki, Joanna Moukarzel, Gisèle Aouad

5 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nadine Labaki	...	Layale
Yasmine Al Massri	...	Nisrine (as Yasmine Al Masri)
Joanna Moukarzel	...	Rima
Gisèle Aouad	...	Jamale
Adel Karam	...	Youssef
Sihame Haddad	...	Rose (as Siham Haddad)
Aziza Semaan	...	Lili
Fatmeh Safa	...	Siham (as Fatme Safa)
Dimitri Staneofski	...	Charles (as Dimitri Stancofsky)
Fadia Stella	...	Christine
Ismaïl Antar	...	Bassam
Cinderella Al Hajj	...	Cliente rousse
Daed Al Khoury	...	Samia
Farida Saleba	...	Cliente salon (as Farida Saliba)
Jocelyne El Khoury	...	Cliente salon

Storyline

Six women in Beirut seek love, marriage, and companionship and find duty, friendship, and possibility. Four work at a salon: Nisrine, engaged to Bassam, with a secret she shares with her co-workers; Jamale, a divorced mother of teens, a part-time model, fearing the encroachment of time; Rima, always in pants, attracted to Siham, a client who smiles back; Layale, in love with a married man, willing to drop everything at a honk of his horn. There's also Rose, a middle-aged seamstress, who cares for Lili, old and facing dementia. Rose has a suitor; Layale has an admirer on the police force. Is delight a possibility? Is caramel a sweet or an instrument of pain?

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Plot Keywords:

caramel | f rated | woman | police | friendship | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

M/12

Details

Official Sites:

Bac Films [France] Official site

Country:

France Lebanon

Language:

Arabic French

Release Date:

6 March 2008 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Caramel

Filming Locations:

Beirut, Lebanon

Box Office

Budget:

EUR1,300,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$71,916, 3 February 2008

Gross USA:

$1,055,580

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$14,248,749

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films des Tournelles, Les Films de Beyrouth, Roissy Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Most of the cast is made up of non-actors as director Nadine Labaki wanted naturalistic performances from them.

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Connections

Referenced in Siete minutos (2009)

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Soundtracks

Adrar Al Doukhan
Written by Mounir El Khawi

User Reviews

Life's all in a "salon de beauté"

Without reading any summary or comment on the movie I just went to see it. I didn't know it was in Lebanese, I was attracted by the promising name of Caramel.

What I saw was a potpourri of emotions and languages, I don't speak Lebanese at all, but it was funny to recognize all the different influences in their language, due to the colonialism. The protagonist and director is a breath-taking and very convincing actress, I had no doubt all the ladies of the cast were good friends and would have hung out all their lives. The storyline is kept simple and clear so even if you don't follow the subtitles, you easily understand the movie. I don't like to compare it with any other movie I saw, but speaking of colors and emotions it reminded me of Almodovar's movies, dedicated to the women in his life. Even though I'd have preferred to see more of the name giving caramel, for about two hours I was transported into the oriental world of spices, taxi drivers, aunties, grandmas, uncles, nieces', sisters and brothers, living, laughing and mainly eating together. The movie combines a very traditional Lebanon with very modern questions, emancipated women and not to forget love. Leaving the cinema I felt loved and happy, I strongly recommend it!