Capernaum (2018)

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 (screenplay), Jihad Hojeily (screenplay)

Stars:

Zain Al Rafeea, Yordanos Shiferaw, Boluwatife Treasure Bankole

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 26 wins & 35 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Zain Al Rafeea	...	Zain
Yordanos Shiferaw	...	Rahil
Boluwatife Treasure Bankole	...	Yonas
Kawsar Al Haddad	...	Souad, the Mother
Fadi Yousef	...	Selim, the Father (as Fadi Kamel Yousef)
Haita 'Cedra' Izzam	...	Sahar, the Sister
Alaa Chouchnieh	...	Aspro
Nadine Labaki	...	Nadine
Elias Khoury	...	The Judge
Nour El Husseini	...	Assaad
Joseph Jimbazian	...	Cockroach Man / Harout
Samira Chalhoub	...	Daad
Farah Hasno	...	Maysoun
Joe Maalouf	...	TV presenter
Alexandre Youakim	...	Doctor

Storyline

Capernaüm ("Chaos") tells the story of Zain (Zain al-Rafeea), a Lebanese boy who sues his parents for the "crime" of giving him life. The film follows Zain as he journeys from gutsy, streetwise child to hardened 12-year-old "adult" fleeing his negligent parents, surviving through his wits on the streets, where he meets Ethiopian migrant worker Rahil, who provides him with shelter and food, as Zein takes care of her baby son Yonas in return. Zein later gets jailed for committing a violent crime, and finally seeks justice in a courtroom.

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Plot Keywords:

boy | 12 year old | courtroom | son suing parents | prison | 

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Taglines:

"Why are you suing your parents?" "For giving me life."

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some drug material

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Lebanon France USA

Language:

Arabic Amharic

Release Date:

20 September 2018 (Lebanon)

Also Known As:

Chaos

Filming Locations:

Beirut, Lebanon

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$24,988, 16 December 2018, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,634,429, 18 April 2019

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mooz Films, Cedrus Invest Bank, Sunnyland Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Capharnaüm is a fiction of which all the elements are things that Nadine Labaki has really seen and experienced during her research in the field. Nothing is fantasized or imagined, on the contrary, all that we see there is the result of her visits to deprived neighborhoods, detention centers and juvenile prisons, where she went alone.

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Quotes

Zain: Fuck this shitty country!

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Connections

References Tom and Jerry: The Movie (1992)

User Reviews

It's not a movie! It's a Masterpiece!

This is what you call art. This is not just a movie, this is a story of the hardships of life told from the eyes of a beautiful boy.

Nadine Labaki out did herself by portraying the reality that most countries are going through in this time and age.

Do not believe the negative reviews. This is not at all about refugees, they do not even cover this topic in the movie. This is about survival in the toughest and most heartbreaking of situations.

This movie should be on everybody's watch list. It is tough at times, but that's life these days.

Watch it for the sake of the children like Zain.