Capernaum
2018 · Directed by Nadine Labaki
Original language: Arabic
- drama
The story
After running away from his negligent parents, committing a violent crime and being sentenced to five years in jail, a hardened, streetwise 12-year-old Lebanese boy sues his parents in protest of the life they have given him.
What it’s like
Handheld, close and restless, Beirut's slums rendered in washed-out daylight, dust, laundry lines and crowded alleys, with a palette of ochre, grey concrete and faded blue. The camera stays at a child's eye level and follows people through cramped rooms and crowded streets, so the city feels thick with heat, noise and close bodies rather than seen from a distance. Sound is mostly street traffic, shouting, radios and a sparse, melancholy score that appears only occasionally. The pace is strained and episodic, moving between hard scenes of hunger, work and neglect with little relief, and the emotional register is raw, grieving and fierce rather than sentimental. It follows a bruised, defiant boy slowly building a fragile bond with those around him, and his tenderness toward a toddler and a migrant woman stands out against constant harshness. Intensity is significant: neglect, child abuse, child marriage, poverty and a violent incident appear, and some of it is hard to watch, though it is not gratuitously gory. It suits viewers who want an unflinching, socially urgent drama and can handle heavy material.
More films like Capernaum
Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved Capernaumand we’ll explain which ones fit you.
