Capharnaüm - كفرناحوم

Lebanese Cinema at its finest! - 9/10

by Popcult Productions

While serving a five-year sentence for a violent crime, a 12-year-old boy sues his parents for neglect.
Before you come at us, and we know that this review is totally belated, but since this movie’s release we never had a chance to watch it. We’re huge fans of Nadine Labaki’s work in the Lebanese film industry and we are wholeheartedly proud to see a woman like Nadine leading the directing tribe in Arab and even international based cinema. She inspires us in every single way possible and with the list of films she’s put on the big screen, she clearly attested that directing a film in a country, where a huge fraction of society is no longer in favor of supporting passionate people who want to pursue this form of art, is in fact within the bounds of possibility. We first discovered Nadine through “Where Do We Go Now” back in 2011, and we adored this film in the way it tackles common religious issues that our country has long endured and is still doing so. Now coming to Capernaum, 2018’s “Best Foreign Language Film” contender at the Academy Awards, this film truly ratified Nadine Labaki’s talent and powers in the directing department, what she achieved with Capernaum is really monumental and inspiring, in its core this film is designed to make you cry. That’s exactly what Nadine was outreaching for, a lot of filmmakers try to go for the viewer’s feelings, and very few of them can leave their print on the audience, where it’s either their “weak”-“cheesy” screenplay, or it’s probably the wobbly plot they’re relying on to that in its nature is no where near making the viewer go “Oh that’s a good idea for a movie”. But with Nadine Labaki’s latest film, she obtained both of those essential elements. From the perfect dialogue that not for one moment felt out of hand or cringeworthy in any way possible and in addition to selling the film as on original perception of poverty ( A boy suing his parents for neglect). A part from those key components Nadine held on to, Zain’s outstanding performance was the ultimate winner grabbing element in Capernaum, it’s more than just risky to revolve your film’s success around a kid’s portrayal and a lot of times it backfires. Plus, the role Zain had in this movie required a lot of effort, from being able to sell those emotional lines and capturing the character’s face expression, it’s just way to laborious. But, since Zain in real life encountered numerous similar situations to the character and also a lot of the actors did too, all the performances turned out to be highly impressive and realistic. Which also continues Nadine’s successful trend in choosing tremendous actors and people who perfectly fit her roles. Additionally, we also have to praise the glorious capturing of poverty elements featured in the film, from the incredible costume design and Nadine’s directing that pinpointed the settings from slums to tents and streets people like Zain spend their lives in, we would like to congratulate Christopher Aoun’s cinematography that painted the authentic image and frames of Beirut in the most artistic way possible. You know Nadine is a talented director when she and her crew made “el cola station” look adequate in a frame. Whatever Nadine is up to next, we are totally in on it, and we’ll definitely not wait this long to watch her next movie. Capernaum is one of the best lebanese films, if our best one yet, we sure as hell hope Nadine continues to reach higher accomplishments in the world of cinema! If you still haven’t seen “Capernaum” or you were living under a rock like ourselves, we suggest you check it out as soon as you can, cause it’s really worth it.
⚖️ Final Rating: 9/10

Connect with Popcult Productions

Instagram
Facebook
View other reviews by Popcult Productions