Caramel
|
List Price: Our Price: $9.95 You Save: $10.03 (50%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $1.47 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of Caramel
Movie Review: Lovely and universal film
Summary: 5 Stars
Chances are I will never have the opportunity to visit Beirut, Lebanon but I appreciate being able to go there 'virtually' through this film and have a glimpse into the everyday lives of people not unlike you or I in many ways. I disagree that the movie was "predictable." (IMO that particular word is just codespeak for fear of being vulnerable and losing oneself in a film...or thinking it's cool to be jaded and pretentious.) I felt the the storylines portrayed were indeed plausible and understandable whether or not one is Lebanese. I was just sorry that the older couple didn't get to be together in the end, but it does show the reality in many people lives is that there are many forms of love and that sometimes those forms of love have to take precedence over one's own personal happiness and romance. Another aspect of the film I liked was how it showed that people with different religions can still be friends and have a bond and love each other unconditionally despite all the sociopolitical issues and conflicts that abound. I especially enjoyed seeing the Christian procession and the wedding! Also I had to laugh at the part when all the ladies are in that room in the brothel and laughing at the "sound effects" in the next room.
Movie Review: Wax . . .
Summary: 5 Stars
Five women in modern-day Beirut find themselves torn between East and West, the traditional role of women in their culture and the desire for independence and equality. This being the Lebanese version (not Saudi or Iranian) of that dilemma, the women's difficulties are more light-hearted and only somewhat about confrontations with rigid morality and restrictive social customs. Three of them are hairdressers in a somewhat chaotic beauty shop (where the signage out front is askew), a fourth is a fading actress with a divorced husband and two uncooperative kids, and the fifth is a seamstress attempting to look after an aging and demented mother.
Living in a secular world, it matters little who is Christian and who is Muslim. More pressing is the matter of surgically restoring a lost virginity in time for a young bride's wedding night or finding a room for an unmarried couple in a hotel that doesn't require proof of marriage. There is bittersweetness aplenty and not all ends happily, but viewers will enjoy watching as the age-old complications of men and women in search of mates and self respect is played out for better or worse. The DVD includes a short interview with the director.
Movie Review: Look for love in the right places
Summary: 5 Stars
In Lebanon, a beauty salon is the nexus for the lives of four women: the owner, looking for love in the wrong places; a older model; a woman you suspect is a lesbian, and a bride-to-be. They all have a story, and the stories are intertwined - braided - along with a local seamstress and her mother (suffering from... Alzheimer's? Lily is a hoot!), a love-smitten cop, and a customer who finds the salon a safe place to be... herself.
The film has a great deal of complexity. The actors speak in Lebanese (I assume) and French, and my version of the film has English subtitles. Much is spoken with the eyes. The scenes switch seamlessly from Christian to Muslim households. The grit and dust of Lebanon is replaced inside the buildings with color and giggles. And the age-old battle to be a woman in a man's world has many ramifications, including the difficulty of renting a room when you are not married, and the necessity of proving virginity on the night of marriage.
The actors are wonderful, and you want each one to be successful in life. When a movie does this to you, you know there is something special going on.
Movie Review: GREAT MOVIE! Nadine is hot!
Summary: 5 Stars
So I watched this movie online. Absolutely loved it. Figured I'd buy it and own it considering Nadine Labaki is very attractive. Also, thought I'd support the Arabic cinema. The directing and filming quality was very impressive for an Arabic movie. Story plot was very interesting and portrays the true reality of some situations in the Arab world. Kind of tired and bored of the typical Arabic plots: good guy, bad guy, girl somehow is involved in the story. He has to rescue you her. bla bla bla. Anyway, I let a friend borrow it last year and I haven't seen it since. lol. So, that tells you how good of a movie it is.
Oh and in case your wondering I'm of Palestinian decent and my mom was born in Lebanon. I've vacationed there numerous times. Hence why I know this equates to the reality there.
Movie Review: A Delight
Summary: 5 Stars
This film surpassed any expectations I might have had - or, to be more exact, any fear that it might be another easily-charming, easily-digested, cliche-ridden way of making a "foreign" culture more palatable. The subtlety with which the issues that really dog women is addressed - that's one of the wonders. The feeling of genuineness - that's another wonder. And the trip to Beirut is the last gift for which I wish to thank the director. As often happens, the compelling score has an impact - but that's true of so many contemporary films that, upon considering the issue, I realized that, instead of discounting or questioning the music's influence, I wanted to simply accept the fact that a film is basically a multi-media artwork. Highly, highly recommended.