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Caramel | 
| Director: Nadine Labaki
Actors: Nadine Labaki, Yasmine Elmasri, Joanna Moukarzel, Gis??le Aouad, Adel Karam
Studio: Lionsgate
This item is no longer available
Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 13900
Genre: Comedy
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: Video On Demand
Running Time: 96 Minutes
ASIN: B001CQMOIW
Theatrical Release Date: January 1, 2007
Release Date: November 14, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
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| Synopsis:
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. Layale loves Rabih, but Rabih is married. Nisrine is Muslim and her forthcoming marriage poses a problem; she is no longer a virgin. Rima is tormented by her attraction to women and especially to a lovely client with long hair. Jamale is refusing to grow old. Rose has sacrificed her life to take care of her elderly sister. In the salon, their intimate and liberated conversations revolve around men, sex and motherhood, between haircuts and sugar waxing with caramel. |
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 The Microcosm of the Beauty Salon July 19, 2008
Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
SUKKAR BANAT (CARAMEL) marks a fine directorial debut for the stunningly beautiful Lebanese actress Nadine Labaki. Though films about the private lives of a circle of women who gather in a mutual watering hole to gossip, share joys and pains of love affairs, as well as being the important support group they all need are plentiful (think STEEL MAGNOLIAS), few come as close to the intimacy shared by this talented cast whose disparate problems keep the film flying. The screenplay by Rodney El Haddad and Jihad Hojeily is greatly enhanced by the cinematography by Yves Sehnaoui with the atmospheric musical score by Khaled Mouzannar, but it is the impeccable cast that completes this tender, humorous, and gently sentimental little tale.
The film shows us a Lebanon we rarely see. The setting is a Beirut beauty salon La Belle owned by Layale (Nadine Labaki) whose frequent absences from her place of business are due to trysts with a married man, trysts often delayed by a police officer, the handsome and infatuated Youssef (Adel Karram). Working in the shop is Rima (Johanna Moukarzel) whose same sex infatuation with a beautiful patron is subtly explored, and regulars in the salon include an aging wannabe actress Jamale (Gisele Aouad), a non virgin bride to be Nisrine (Yasmine Elmasri) and an older seamstress Rose (Sihame Haddad) who has elected to relinquish her hopes for love with a willing and potential elderly man Charles (Dimitri Staneofski) in favor of continuing to care for her humorously senile mother Lili (Aziza Semaan).
How these unforgettable characters interact, displacing each other's anxieties by caring friendship freely shared, offers each of these fine actresses many moments of glory in addition to creating a fine ensemble effect as sensitively directed by Nadine Labaki. This little film (in Arabic and French with subtitles) is a complete pleasure and will likely draw attention to future films from Lebanon. Grady Harp, July 08
 Intelligently captures social struggles for liberal-minded women in the middle east April 5, 2008
Gida Hammami (USA/France)
7 out of 11 found this review helpful
A war-free story set in Beirut that revolves around the lives of five women who work in a beauty salon, Caramel intelligently captures social struggles for liberal-minded women in the Middle East. From aging to sexuality, each scene is a delight that will evoke tears as it will make you laugh. The originally composed music by Khaled Mouzannar moves us through the plot with a tango of classical oriental vibes. A brilliant first from director and actress Nadine Labaki.
 Arab Chick Flick - But Pretty Good! July 6, 2008
Kevin Quinley (Fairfax, VA)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Sort of a Lebanese "Sex in the City." These beauty parlor companions - one of whom is the smokin' hot Nadine Labaki -- in Beirut use caramel as a depilatory.
Through the twists and turns of their ambitions and love lives, they show that life is a bit life caramel: at times sticky, at other times sweet, painful and wrenching. The qualities are alloyed together.
Worth seeing!
Ordinary Lives in One of the World's Most Diverse and Conflicted Cities. June 21, 2008
mirasreviews (McLean, VA USA)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
"Caramel" takes its title from the sugaring paste that Middle Eastern women use for depilation, a service offered in the Beirut beauty salon where the film takes place. Director Nadine Labaki plays Laylale, an attractive single woman who works as a stylist in a working class beauty parlor and is increasingly frustrated with the affair she's having with a married man. Nisrine (Yasmine Elmasri) is a younger stylist looking forward to her upcoming wedding. Their co-worker Rima (Joanna Moukarzel) is more interested in women than men. Jamale (Gisele Aouad), a friend and client, is struggling with the ravages of middle age. And the lonely seamstress down the street, Rose (Sihame Haddad), works to support herself and her elderly sister, whose dementia makes it all the more difficult.
"Caramel" presents the lives, loves, and frustrations of five Beirut women, four Christian and one Muslim, young, old and in between. It is more resigned to life's imperfections than Western chick flicks and perhaps less optimistic or aggressive in the way the characters deal with their circumstances. We also see the difficulties that these independent women face in a culture that has a strong undercurrent of traditionalism. I lived in Beirut as a child, and it's nice to see a slice-of-life film from that city now. It seems in many ways unchanged: modern, cosmopolitan, and extraordinarily diverse but with an unbreakable thread of religious values running through it, for better or worse. "Caramel"'s subject isn't new, but Lebanese culture makes it different. In Arabic with optional subtitles.
The DVD (Lions Gate 2008): There is an "Interview with Director Nadine Labaki" (6 min) in English. She talks about the film's title, its characters, and how the film has been received outside of Lebanon. Labaki's answers are clear, but we unfortunately cannot hear the interviewer's questions. There is also a theatrical trailer (2 min). Subtitles for the film are available in English and Spanish.
Wonderful Movie June 23, 2008
Rita in Portland (Portland)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a wonderful movie, it definitely exceeded my expectations. The characters are funny, and real. They embody everything that is sweet, nice and tender about Lebanese. They show the fragile yet powerful situation of Lebanese women. I recommend to anyone who would like to see some glimpses of the Lebanese society.
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