Capernaum Movie Review
Wow, wow, wow. Director Nadine Labaki has crafted a stunning film here. I was really blown away by this one. She used non-professional actors and I can’t imagine how she was able to get such amazing performances out of them. Labaki filmed mainly in Beirut and told a story that has become commonplace for the area but is often swept under the rug, especially in the West.
Zain is a young boy (his parents have no birth certificate for him so he doesn’t know how old he is) who is struggling to survive. He has a slew of brothers and sisters and his parents can’t possibly take care of them all. So many bad things happen to Zain it’s hard to list them all. The act that initiates his journey is when his sister, Sahar, is married off at the age of eleven to a very adult man (dude looked to be in his thirties). Zain is particularly close with Sahar and sees this as a betrayal by his parents. The scene where Sahar is delivered to her future husband was absolutely heartbreaking.
A distraught Zain runs away from home to escape from his parents and his life. While on the run he meets Rahil (Yordanos Shiferaw) and her son Yonas (Boluwatife Treasure Bankole). Yonas is the cutest part of the whole film. Bankole is actually a girl and she is adorable and must’ve been the most amiable baby in the world. Zain has to survive on his own for much of the film and he is extremely resourceful. He even crafts a little pram out of a skateboard and pots for Yonas to ride in. The ending culminates in an act of violence and provides the impetus for the court proceeding that is sprinkled throughout the film.
Zain was the most captivating aspect of the film for me. He was incredibly compelling and every time something bad happened to him you wanted to scream. Maybe the emotion seeped through so much because these were non-actors who were basically living their real lives on screen. Labaki was able to present a very complex issue and make your heart pang as she did it. You feel for the adults and for the kids who were born into a very hopeless situation. The one and only time Zain smiles in the entire film will make your heart ache. It’s as if Labaki is pleading with the audience, “Don’t forget about kids like Zain. Don’t forget about this part of the world.” Go see this one. I guarantee you won’t forget about Capernaum for a long, long while.
Movie or Film: Film
You’ll like this film if:
1. You like heart wrenching stories
2. You like stories about childhood
3. You want to see amazing acting performances
