Caramel is a Lebanon-France Co-production with a charming story of female love, friendship and aging. The story focus on the love life of a group of young and middle-age women who work/visit a hair & beauty salon. The story breaks many stereotypes about religious confrontation in Lebanon and on how Middle Eastern Women think, feel or live.
The movie mix romance, humor and sadness with simplicity, warmth, and heart under the fresh direction of young actress-director Nadine Labaki, who also plays the leading character.
All the actors are terrific in their performances: Yasmine Elmasri as the modern and untraditional Muslim girl Nisrine, who is going to get married; Joanna Moukarzel as the boyish Lesbian Rima; Gisèle Aouad as the aging divorced actress Jamale who struggles with having to find a job in the modeling industry and move on with her life after her divorce; Nadine Labaki as Layale, a good-hearted girl who discovers her boyfriend is a married man; Adel Karam as the sweet policeman Youssef in love with Layale; Sihame Haddad as the patient and shy single tailor Rose, and Aziza Semaan as an impressive demented Lili.
The face of Lebanon and Beirut shown is real and diverse, not stereotypical, despite showing Christians and Muslims, and different social groups. The Beirut we see is not the one under reconstruction, the post-war destroyed one, but the Beirut of the people who live in the city, the ones who make it a lovable place. We see real people who live their lives in their own way and faith and that intermingle without problems, a world in which Christianity and Islam and present in equal parts in their culture, people who struggle with the same issues that we Westerners do.
The movie was shot in warm caramel tones, that goes well with title, which relates to the waxing system using home-made caramel that the beautician uses.
The music, a warm and sentimental mix of French and Arabic songs is truly fantastic.
A heart-warming enjoyable film that offers a real portrait of life in modern Beirut and Lebanese women told in an universal simple and touching language, with some soapy moments.
The movie mix romance, humor and sadness with simplicity, warmth, and heart under the fresh direction of young actress-director Nadine Labaki, who also plays the leading character.
All the actors are terrific in their performances: Yasmine Elmasri as the modern and untraditional Muslim girl Nisrine, who is going to get married; Joanna Moukarzel as the boyish Lesbian Rima; Gisèle Aouad as the aging divorced actress Jamale who struggles with having to find a job in the modeling industry and move on with her life after her divorce; Nadine Labaki as Layale, a good-hearted girl who discovers her boyfriend is a married man; Adel Karam as the sweet policeman Youssef in love with Layale; Sihame Haddad as the patient and shy single tailor Rose, and Aziza Semaan as an impressive demented Lili.
The face of Lebanon and Beirut shown is real and diverse, not stereotypical, despite showing Christians and Muslims, and different social groups. The Beirut we see is not the one under reconstruction, the post-war destroyed one, but the Beirut of the people who live in the city, the ones who make it a lovable place. We see real people who live their lives in their own way and faith and that intermingle without problems, a world in which Christianity and Islam and present in equal parts in their culture, people who struggle with the same issues that we Westerners do.
The movie was shot in warm caramel tones, that goes well with title, which relates to the waxing system using home-made caramel that the beautician uses.
The music, a warm and sentimental mix of French and Arabic songs is truly fantastic.
A heart-warming enjoyable film that offers a real portrait of life in modern Beirut and Lebanese women told in an universal simple and touching language, with some soapy moments.