Caramel

Director: Nadine Labaki
Country: Lebanon/France

Caramel follows the daily lives of five women in Beirut. It is, at its base, a comedy, but deals with serious issues such as infidelity, marriage, lesbianism, and age with a certain realism that stops it from being just a regular soap opera.

A virtuoso debut feature by Nadine Labaki, Caramel, more than anything, focuses on what happens when lifestyles clash with cultures, and at the same time dispels a lot of the common misconceptions of Lebanese society. The five women on which it focuses are given almost equal importance, and each time you start to think that one is getting all the screen time, it bounces onto the next person's issues.

I went into this movie knowing very little about about the plot, and came out pleasantly surprised. A subtly powerful film, and simply fun to watch, Caramel should be on everybody's shopping list.