Capernaum 2018

Who knew that 'misery' was a genre?

I wish this film hadn't been so well made. If it'd been less well made, I might not have taken it so hard.

Capernaum is a badly titled film about Zain, a 12-year-old Syrian immigrant growing up in the slums of Beirut. His parents love him... to bring home money and food but other then that they couldn't really care less for him or his indiscriminate number of brothers and sisters. Zain doesn't go to school, works full time at a convenience 'store' and his favourite sister is given away to be married at 11 years old. And then his life gets tough.

The film has its shortcomings. The ending feels like it was forgotten about until the money was nearly out and then they had to wrap everything up during their lunch hour. Or the court case which is used as a framing device and feels very gimmicky (and is fortunately not dwelt upon).

But what works, works too well. There is a devastating sense of realism that comes through thanks to the directing and to the cast, many of whom are amateurs plucked from the streets to play the roles of their lives. Zain (Zain Al Rafeea) was a Syrian immigrant, Kawsar Al Haddad (his mother in the film) was an illegal immigrant, the girl who played his sister (Haita 'Cedra' Izzam) was discovered selling chewing gum on the streets of Beirut, the real life parents of the baby (Boluwatife Treasure Bankole) with whom Zain bonds in the movie were illegals and were deported for a time during the filming...

There is enough reality here to choke you, or at least choke you up.

Capernaum is an experience so poignant it will pierce your heart, steal your breath, and wet your eyes with truth. It is a film you will probably love but certainly not like.

I like Labaki. I liked this movie.
But... I dunno, there's too much emotional blackmail going on in the movie for my liking.
In terms of Child Poverty Movie Genre, this is more along the lines of Slumdog Millionaire than, say... The Bicycle Thief, to put it briefly.

Good things in the movie:

• It tells most of its story visually, you get to experience the events with the characters rather than via dialogue or some other storytelling device
• It is filmed really well. The camera angles, the framing, the cinematography, all that stuff... really good.
• Soundtrack was not too shabby either
• Lots of realism. Using real people instead of actors, filmed on location... and so on. This is why the movie works so well even though it shouldn't really.
• Good use of levity at times to relieve the viewer from the misery of the events. There's a healthy mix of humour and tragedy in the movie. Although you're pummeled to death by misery in the movie that it loses it meaning, that misery is cut with a bit of levity.

Not so good things:

• Labaki gives away an important event of of the 3rd act in the 1st act of the movie, without any ambiguity or subtlety. Basically, you can figure out what is going to happen at the end from the beginning of the movie. That is bad.
• The movie puts too much on its plate, poverty alone is a big subject, then you add human trafficking, pedophilia, the Kaffala system... etc. Alright, I get it, there's a lot of bad shit going on in the world, you don't need to take them all on at once.
• 105 minutes of realism, then 15 minutes of rose colored glasses at the end. I'm all for a happy ending if you're gonna do realism, either do the whole movie like that or don't do it.
• The ending is a bit simplistic. The movie deals with the subject of poverty, yet it doesn't deal with the CAUSES of poverty. Why were Zain's parents poor? what caused that? whose responsibility is that? but instead of dealing with that, the movie suggests that poor people should stop conceiving. Alright, we've solved poverty, people!
• Instead of giving a little space to the viewer for interpretations, the message of the movie is telegraphed at the end. I mean, who needs subtlety when you can just tell people what you want to say via a speech at the end. It shows a lack of trust on the part of the director, like, maybe the idea was too deep for the normal person to understand, she had to make sure to tell us what it is.

It is said that Labaki made this movie after seeing a child in the street so she wanted to tell the story of children like him. Nadine Labaki is not poor, she probably never been poor in her life (nowhere poor as the characters in the movie, at least), so that's why her view ultimately lacks depth and feels too simplistic. It's what you'd expect from someone who's never been poor in their life.

So, is it a movie worth watching? yes, the good things are good, and if you're living in a first world country you will enjoy how this movie makes you feel about poverty and all that stuff, abd unless you've walked those streets and went through these experiences, this movie will be alright for you.

I wouldn't call it entertaining per se, but it's certainly provocative

Presenting a milieu in which people are utterly discardable, the film depicts children who are literally bought and sold for a few chickens; 11-year-old girls who are married off so their family can afford the rent; babies who are fed on ice cubes covered in sugar; refugees who roam the streets; mental illness which goes untreated; and people without a Lebanese identity card who don't officially exist. The film works because it never feels like it's exploiting, patronising, or trivialising the poverty and misfortune it depicts, never attempting to manipulate the audience into feeling a preconceived emotion. On the contrary, it's matter-of-fact, and notable for just how unsentimental it is. However, it's also deeply humanist, with genuine compassion in its DNA and a quiet rage at its core, born partly from an inherent sense of authenticity; shot in the style of cinéma vérité, it uses non-professional actors whose lives are not dissimilar from the characters they play. There are some problems, of course - the framing device of a trial is poorly conceived, the ending is disappointingly didactic, and the litany of hardships endured by the main character does get a little over-the-top. However, this is undeniably impressive filmmaking, as harrowing and angry, as it is solicitous and respectful.

For my complete review, please visit: https://boxd.it/EmS3n