Reviewed by Neil Davey
Stars Nadine Labaki, Yasmine Elmasri, Joanna Moukarzel, Gisele Aouad, Adel Karam, Sihame Hadded, Aziza Semaan, Fatmah Safa, Dimitri Staneofski, Fadia Stella, Ismail Antar
Written by Nadine Labaki
Certification UK PG | US PG
Runtime 95 minutes
Directed by Nadine Labaki
To make a film appealing, there are certain things you can do. Add a major star, for example. Set it somewhere glamorous. Avoid politics. Accordingly, many of you will look at the synopsis for Caramel — which features no stars, is set in Beirut and focuses on the social structure, religious controls and gender politics of modern Lebanon — and decide to go and see Iron Man instead. However, that not-terribly-enticing outline masks a beautifully observed, utterly charming tale that's every bit as sweet as the title: think less serious art-house film, more Sex & The Middle-Eastern City.
The focus of the film is Layale, played by the gorgeous and vastly talented Labaki — who also wrote and directed the film. She owns the Beirut beauty salon that forms the film's "heart", where the film's other characters — beauticians and regular clients — meet to discuss life and dissect each other's problems, particularly Layale's doomed and frowned- upon affair with a married man. Around this are stitched the tales of a young bride-to-be who's not the virgin her fiancé will expect and demand, an ageing actress struggling to compete in a youth-obsessed modern world, a gay staffer obsessed with a beautiful client, and an elderly neighbour whose romantic life was sacrificed to care for her mentally-troubled sister.
So yes, in that respect it's a little clichéd, a collection of "emotional shortcuts" rather than wonderfully drawn secondary characters. But the film is so charming and sunny and cleverly handled that it's not much of a problem. This small flaw aside, Caramel is a life-affirming delight.