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Capernaum

Original title: Capharnaüm
  • 2018
  • R
  • 2h 6m
IMDb RATING
8.4/10
95K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,238
119
Capernaum (2018)
Watch Trailer [OV]
Play trailer2:06
5 Videos
99+ Photos
Drama

While serving a five-year sentence for a violent crime, a 12-year-old boy sues his parents for neglect.While serving a five-year sentence for a violent crime, a 12-year-old boy sues his parents for neglect.While serving a five-year sentence for a violent crime, a 12-year-old boy sues his parents for neglect.

  • Director
    • Nadine Labaki
  • Writers
    • Nadine Labaki
    • Jihad Hojeily
    • Michelle Keserwany
  • Stars
    • Zain Al Rafeea
    • Yordanos Shiferaw
    • Boluwatife Treasure Bankole
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    8.4/10
    95K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    1,238
    119
    • Director
      • Nadine Labaki
    • Writers
      • Nadine Labaki
      • Jihad Hojeily
      • Michelle Keserwany
    • Stars
      • Zain Al Rafeea
      • Yordanos Shiferaw
      • Boluwatife Treasure Bankole
    • 481User reviews
    • 197Critic reviews
    • 75Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Top rated movie #88
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 39 wins & 55 nominations total

    Videos5

    Trailer [OV]
    Trailer 2:06
    Watch Trailer [OV]
    Capernaum
    Trailer 2:10
    Watch Capernaum
    Official US Trailer
    Trailer 2:09
    Watch Official US Trailer
    Cate Blanchett's Films of Hope
    Clip 4:30
    Watch Cate Blanchett's Films of Hope
    Capernaum: Rahil
    Clip 1:06
    Watch Capernaum: Rahil

    Photos129

    Capernaum (2018)
    Capernaum (2018)
    Capernaum (2018)
    Capernaum (2018)
    Capernaum (2018)
    Capernaum (2018)
    Capernaum (2018)
    Zain Al Rafeea in Capernaum (2018)
    Zain Al Rafeea in Capernaum (2018)
    Zain Al Rafeea in Capernaum (2018)
    Zain Al Rafeea in Capernaum (2018)
    Capernaum (2018)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Zain Al Rafeea
    Zain Al Rafeea
    • Zain
    Yordanos Shiferaw
    • Rahil
    Boluwatife Treasure Bankole
    Boluwatife Treasure Bankole
    • Yonas
    Kawsar Al Haddad
    • Souad
    Fadi Yousef
    • Selim
    • (as Fadi Kamel Yousef)
    Cedra Izzam
    • Sahar, the Sister
    Alaa Chouchnieh
    • Aspro
    Elias Khoury
    • The Judge
    Mohammad Al Abdallah
    • Salah
    Mohamad Abdellatif
    • Street Kid
    Abdo Abdo
    • Notary
    Hampig Abraham
    • Street Kid
    Jamil Ahmad
    • Street Kid
    Mohamad Akkar
    • Kid
    Elias Akobegia
    • Employer Snack Falafel
    Riman Al Rafeea
    • Zain's Sister
    Legamett Alamou
    • Prisoner Detention Center
    Majd Nabil Alhalabi
    • Street Kid
    • Director
      • Nadine Labaki
    • Writers
      • Nadine Labaki
      • Jihad Hojeily
      • Michelle Keserwany
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      All actors in Capernaum are people whose real life resembles that of the film. Thus, Zain's real life is similar (to some extent) to that of his character, as was Rahil, who was undocumented. For the character of Zain's mother, Nadine Labaki was inspired by a woman she met, who has 16 children and lives in the same conditions as those of Capernaum. Six of her children have died and others are in orphanages for lack of care. The one who plays the role of Kawthar really fed her children with sugar and ice cubes.
    • Goofs
      At 1hr 35mins, Zain ties Yonas's leg to the shoe stand to prevent him from following or wandering into busy traffic, He tied the right leg in the initial scene, and then after a cut back to that scene seconds later he is now tied by his left leg. which is not really his left leg, because the whole shot is reversed in order to have Yonas's look in the correct direction. you can notice this by the boots and the blue shoe in the background.
    • Quotes

      Zain: I want to make a complaint against my parents. I'd want adults to listen to me. I want adults who can't raise kids not to have any. What will I remember? Violence, insults or beatings, hit with chains, pipes, or a belt? The kindest words I heard were get out son of a whore! Bug off, piece of garbage! Life is a pile of shit. Not worth more than my shoe. I live in hell here. I burn like rotting meat. Life is a bitch.I thought we'd become good people, loved by all. But God doesn't want that for us. He'd rather we be washrags for others. The child you're carrying will be like I am.

    • Alternate versions
      The US release was cut by around 3 minutes. The main deletion is the sequence in which Cockroach-Man tries to help Rahil get a permit by pretending to be her new employer.
    • Connections
      Featured in 2019 Golden Globe Awards (2019)

    User reviews481

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    A film which dares to ask: if you live in poverty, is it moral to have children?
    It's the missing question in the often heated debates about child poverty - I hear it all the time in my own country (UK) - has it risen? Should the government be doing more to help? How can a developed country tolerate children growing up in squalor? The question that is never asked, that is in fact completely taboo to even suggest, is why are people living in poverty having children? And is that moral?

    It is the question asked by Zain, the protagonist of this superb film, who decides to sue his parents for having him. Having endured a lifetime of neglect, abuse and poverty he thinks no, and asks the court to prevent his parents from having anymore children.

    That sets the film rolling, the vast majority of which takes place in flashback as we see how Zain ended up in court. Along the way we see the grim reality of life in the slums of Beirut, as Zain eventually decides to run away after his parents sell off his older (11 year old) sister in marriage to their landlord. He ends up living with an undocumented Ethiopian migrant who lives in a shack with her baby, and Zain ends up looking after the child while the mother works. This provides a counterpoint in many ways to the earlier scenes, as the threesome establish something akin to the warm loving home Zain had never known. But yet again, the films forces us to ask - why has this woman had a child? Though employed, she lives in squalor, and as an illegal migrant her child will never be able to get an education, as a local people trafficker trying to persuade her to sell the child reminds her. Is this moral? Does her right to have a child trump that of the child's right for a decent start in life?

    The films develops from there, though I cannot reveal anymore without spoiling the final act. Though this isn't really a plot-driven film per se, more a slice-of-life look at Zain and how he deals with the situations life throws at him. This film reminded me very much of 'Salaam Bombay', Mira Nair's 1987 film which deals with street children in Mumbai.

    It's a brave film and the only other film I can think of which tackles this issue is Ken Loach's 'Ladybird Ladybird', in which an impoverished woman with a chaotic home-life repeatedly gets pregnant. There I think Loach approached his protagonist from a more sympathetic perspective, seeing her as a victim of an unfair economic system and social forces beyond her control. Though I may be misreading her intention, Nadine Labaki takes this further and asks - is it basically selfish for people in these circumstances to have children?

    Personally speaking - should the government (whether in rich or poor countries) be doing more to alleviate poverty? Yes. Is the economic system both within and between states currently too unequal? Yes. If you are stuck in poverty, dealing with poor mental health, drug addiction, illiteracy, malnutrition, slum-living condition - that sucks, and is unfair. But one thing you should not be doing is bringing children into that situation and thereby perpetuating the cycle of misery. Yes, some children rise above their circumstances, but the vast majority don't, and are thereby condemned to a miserable life through no fault of their own. It's the height of selfishness. This is the provocative question Labaki and Zain pose in this engrossing film.
    helpful•34
    8
    • wisDOM87
    • Apr 18, 2020

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 20, 2018 (Lebanon)
    • Countries of origin
      • Lebanon
      • France
      • Cyprus
      • Qatar
      • United Kingdom
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official site
    • Languages
      • Arabic
      • Amharic
    • Also known as
      • Chaos
    • Filming locations
      • Cola, Beirut, Lebanon(slum)
    • Production companies
      • Mooz Films
      • Cedrus Invest Bank
      • Sunnyland Film
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $4,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $1,661,096
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $24,988
      • Dec 16, 2018
    • Gross worldwide
      • $64,417,003
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 6 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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