Caramel

Strengths: shows a variety of female Arabs; emphasizes the struggles of modern-day women, who have to navigate their traditions and societal expectations; counters stereotype of Arab women as veiled and passive; realisticly depicts the complexity of Christian/Muslim identity

Warnings: depicts homosexuality as more tolerated than it probably is in Lebanese society; slow-paced

Summary: Five Beiruti women hang out in a beauty salon, where they use caramelized sugar to remove their body hair. The metaphor of caramel plays on the sweetness of their relationships, accompanied by pain and sacrifice.

Layale, played by director Nadine Labaki, is having an affair with a married man. Nisrine has to hide the fact that she is no longer a virgin from her fiance. Rima falls in love with a female client. Older Rose considers a new suitor while having to care for her mentally incapacitated sister. Jamal, whose husband has left her for a younger woman, tries to maintain her youthful beauty as a working model.

Reviews:
New York Times
Salon.com
rottentomatoes.com (7.1/10)
Christianity Today (includes discussion questions)
Time Out


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