Caramel

70

Roadside Attractions (95 minutes)
and Nadine Labaki
Nadine Labaki , Yasmine Elmasri , Joanna Mkarzel , and Gisèle Osta

Rating: PG for thematic elements involving sexuality, language and some smoking

Summary: In Beirut, five women meet regularly in a beauty salon, a colorful and sensual microcosm of the city where several generations come into contact, talk and confide in each other. In the salon, their intimate and liberated conversations revolve around men, sex and motherhood, between haircuts and sugar waxing with caramel. (Roadside Attractions)

Ken Fox
TV Guide:
(88) A brisk dramatic comedy that combines melodrama, humor and social critique in equal measure.

Angie Errigo
Empire:
(80) An effective look at women's lives in a decidedly non-Hollywood setting.

Jeff Beresford-Howe
Film Threat:
(80) Caramel will likely be the Lebanese selection for Academy Award for “Best Foreign Film;” it’s inconceivable to me that it won’t win, but it’ll still be an injustice if it does. Caramel deserves to be in the categories with the big boys, so to speak, and whoever wins for Best Actress will be the second most deserving actress of 2007.

Richard Schickel
Time:
(80) It may be a first film, but Labaki, employing a cast that is full of non-professional actresses, is a slick and knowing filmmaker. Her multiple plot lines are neatly braided and though her characters are conventionalized they are also charming and capable of surprising us.

Ty Burr
Boston Globe:
(75) Warmly shot (by Yves Sehnaoui) and comes with a strong, burbling soundtrack of Arab pop; it slides down easily and occasionally too easily.

Walter Addiego
San Francisco Chronicle:
(75) Well-made and modestly enjoyable.

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