Caramel (2007)

europe east · Data inscrierii: 04/Iul/2009 Mesaje: 262

Un film libanez perfect delicios, uman si plin de viata, clar unul din cele mai bune filme din ultimii ani pentru mine. pe rand am si ras, am si plans, o regizoare de mare talent Nadine Labaki, si e si primul ei film. A nu se rata!!! uitati mai jos si ce zice domnul Scott. (Nu stiu daca aici s-ar incadra acest film, va las pe voi sa-l mutati in caz ca nu...)

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A Haircut, With an Affair and Highlights of Support

By A. O. SCOTT
The Beirut beauty salon where most of “Caramel” takes place is likely to be a familiar type of establishment, even to viewers who have never been to the Lebanese capital. What the shop lacks in sleekness and chic it makes up for in the kind of friendly, sisterly warmth that could be found, for instance, in “Beauty Shop,” the distaff installation in the “Barbershop” franchise.

Women of various shapes, sizes, ages and backgrounds gather to bond and gossip. Their camaraderie is occasionally disrupted by a crisis, but you are likely to remember this charming film, directed by Nadine Labaki, less for its gently comic, mildly melodramatic plot than for its friendly and inviting atmosphere.

Ms. Labaki, who also wrote the screenplay with Jihad Hojeily and Rodney Al Haddad, plays Layale, owner of the shop, which is called Si Belle. Like many unmarried women in the Middle East, Layale, in spite of her professional independence, lives with her parents. She is also having an affair with a married man and spends anxious hours waiting for him to call, ignoring the attentions of a handsome traffic policeman who is obviously smitten with her.

Layale’s friends and co-workers are supportive and tolerant of her, and also have troubles of their own. Jamale (Gisèle Aouad) is a recently divorced actress made frantic by the necessity of competing with younger women for work in television commercials. Nisrine (Yasmine Al Masri), a Muslim, is engaged and is worried about what will happen if her future husband discovers that she isn’t a virgin. Rima (Joanna Moukarzel), who cleans up around the shop and washes hair, develops a crush on an elegant client. And then there is Aunt Rose (Siham Haddad), a seamstress who lives down the street from Layale’s shop with her demanding, mentally disabled sister, Lili (Aziza Semaan).

It all has the makings of a mild soap opera, or perhaps a Pedro Almodóvar film without camp or kinkiness. And Ms. Labaki is less interested in breaking new ground than in providing her audience the kind of comfort and catharsis that her characters give one another. Which is not to say that “Caramel” is overly soft or sweet.

The title refers to a hot-sugar concoction that, while edible, is mainly used, like wax, for hair removal. Lovely and smooth as Ms. Labaki’s film (and her cast) may be, there are also twinges of real pain and disappointment.

“Caramel” has an optimism born not of dreamy romanticism but of resilience and a degree of hard-headedness. Life for these women is not easy or especially fair, and each of them faces moments of humiliation, loneliness and potential heartbreak. But in the best melodramatic tradition, their toughness, good humor and loyalty see them through. Those qualities, and Ms. Labaki’s evident affection for the battered panache of her native city, make “Caramel” hard to resist.

halebardul · Data inscrierii: 02/Iul/2009 Mesaje: 2676

europe east · Data inscrierii: 04/Iul/2009 Mesaje: 262

ce inseamna ca n-ai reusit sa-l vezi? ai incercat si nu s-a putut? pai si atunci de ce sa te conving eu? filmul e bun, si cu asta basta. smile1

of cairo · Data inscrierii: 05/Iul/2009 Mesaje: 129

daaa, ce mi-a simpatic şi mie caramel. dulce-amar, vibrant şi emoţionant. europe east, te susţin sută la sută smile1

(halebardule, ce mai off-topic la adresa mewsettei..)

europe east · Data inscrierii: 04/Iul/2009 Mesaje: 262

phew... e bine, atunci, daca v-a placut smile1

poate o convingeti si pe Mewsette...

of cairo · Data inscrierii: 05/Iul/2009 Mesaje: 129

deocamdată mewsette e bannată confused

fLoreign · Trimis: Luni, 14 Septembrie 2009 15:17 Titlul subiectului:

of cairo · Data inscrierii: 05/Iul/2009 Mesaje: 129

[quote="fLoreign"]

fLoreign · Trimis: Luni, 14 Septembrie 2009 19:34 Titlul subiectului:

Daca ceea ce stiu eu este cu adevarat bezea (in copilarie am avut parte de ele, facute de mama si de alte rude), atunci nu sunt unul si acelasi lucru, si nici pe aproape nu sunt. Bezelele sunt albus de ou cu zahar si solidificat. Sunt casante si prafoase. Marshmallows sunt elastice, ca de latex (da,se topesc in gura), vag dulci si tin loc de slanina pe frigaruia copchiilor americani la focul de tabara (fac asa, o crusta neagra, de aduce la gust a caramel, ori daca o frigi incet, se zgarceste pe frigare).

Saracul unchi Hulot!

of cairo · Data inscrierii: 05/Iul/2009 Mesaje: 129

ok, you win :lol:

europe east · Data inscrierii: 04/Iul/2009 Mesaje: 262

nu m-am suparat, doar n-am inteles ce vroiai sa zici asa laconic smile1