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Caramel
Roadside Attractions


8.8

based on 26 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 16 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: PG for thematic elements involving sexuality, language and some smoking

Starring Nadine Labaki, Yasmine Elmasri, Joanna Mkarzel, and Gisèle Osta

In Beirut, five women meet regularly in a beauty salon, a colorful and sensual microcosm of the city where several generations come into contact, talk and confide in each other. In the salon, their intimate and liberated conversations revolve around men, sex and motherhood, between haircuts and sugar waxing with caramel. (Roadside Attractions)

GENRE(S):	Comedy \| Romance
WRITTEN BY:	Nadine Labaki
DIRECTED BY:	Nadine Labaki
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: June 17, 2008 Theatrical: February 1, 2008
RUNNING TIME:	95 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	France / Lebanon
LANGUAGE(S):	Arabic / French

Alternative Title: Sukkar banat

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

TV Guide Ken Fox

A brisk dramatic comedy that combines melodrama, humor and social critique in equal measure.

Empire Angie Errigo

An effective look at women's lives in a decidedly non-Hollywood setting.

Film Threat Jeff Beresford-Howe

Caramel will likely be the Lebanese selection for Academy Award for “Best Foreign Film;” it’s inconceivable to me that it won’t win, but it’ll still be an injustice if it does. Caramel deserves to be in the categories with the big boys, so to speak, and whoever wins for Best Actress will be the second most deserving actress of 2007.

Time Richard Schickel

It may be a first film, but Labaki, employing a cast that is full of non-professional actresses, is a slick and knowing filmmaker. Her multiple plot lines are neatly braided and though her characters are conventionalized they are also charming and capable of surprising us.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Warmly shot (by Yves Sehnaoui) and comes with a strong, burbling soundtrack of Arab pop; it slides down easily and occasionally too easily.

San Francisco Chronicle Walter Addiego

Well-made and modestly enjoyable.

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

In some ways, this glossily enjoyable movie is a lot closer to Hollywood than Beirut. At times, I thought I was watching some oddball Lebanese variant on "Barbershop."

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Labaki, who studied filmmaking in Lebanon and France, has a deft touch and nice instincts.

Premiere Ryan Stewart

The penetrating musical score, with its memorable shadings of emotional danger, the snappy and confident pacing and the emergence of 33-year-old Labaki as an international talent to watch all combine to make the film satisfying confection.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

A Lebanese variation on sweetly soapy dramas about Women Who Bond With Wet Hair.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

At its best, Caramel boasts a quietly engaging slice-of-slice casualness.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Caramel is a sweeter and more believable version of "Steel Magnolias," Middle Eastern style.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

It would be easy to categorize the Lebanese women's picture Caramel as a Levantine combination of "Sex in the City" and "Beauty Shop," but it's actually a lot smarter, sharper and deeper than that.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

Smarter and more poignant than the average chick flick.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

It is sweet but not saccharine, an intimate film that doesn't stint on the desperation and anxiety that go along with the search for love.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

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.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

All but one of the actresses in Caramel are nonprofessionals -- not unprofessional, just untrained in the craft -- and they are, to a woman, enchanting. So is this Lebanese comedy.

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

It's a reassuring and delicious film, but in no sense an adventurous one.

The Hollywood Reporter John DeFore

Warm-hearted and accessible, it could benefit from good word of mouth in a limited art house run, particularly among audiences who like their rom-coms laced with foreign ingredients.

Variety Jay Weissberg

Fresh from commercials and musicvids, novice helmer (and star) Nadine Labaki gathers five women around a Beirut beauty salon to address a range of issues facing Lebanese women -- from extramarital affairs to religious dictates. Low on calories and not especially original but always diverting.

Village Voice Ella Taylor

Beauty-parlor romantic comedy has been done to death and beyond, but what Caramel lacks in originality is redeemed by its exuberant sensuality and astute commentary on the way Lebanese women sit uncomfortably in the crosshairs of their country’s clash between patriarchal tradition and Westernized modernity.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

The first-time feature director, co-writer, and star of Caramel, Labaki, can be forgiven the commonness of her dramatic setting because of the gracefulness of her storytelling and the strength of her vision.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

It's refreshing for a romantic comedy not to follow the formula by rote. I only wish I could be as enthusiastic about the amount of screen time accorded to certain characters who are more tedious than endearing.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

The most unexpected thing about the Lebanese film Caramel is its predictability.

New York Post V.A. Musetto

Caramel, by the way, gets its name from a blend of sugar, lemon juice and water that is boiled until it turns into a paste used to remove unwanted hair in the Middle East.

Chicago Tribune Tasha Robinson

The film itself, while charming and gently funny, is entirely unexceptional.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.8 (out of 10) based on 16 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Humprt P gave it a4:
Too many clichés. Too excited. But beautifuly filmed, nice warm atmosphere.

Jose S. gave it a10:
Very good film. Keep the good work Nadine.

Marc K. gave it an8:
A very pleasant surprise in so many ways. Extremely well done.

Trevor gave it a6:
Average, but kind of dull. I didn't find any of the characters too engaging.

Peter K. gave it a10:
A charming and lovely Lebanese film with superb music and exceptional characterizations - at once both universal and yet distinctively Lebanese: it pursues a group of women seeking beauty and love in a society which may or may not permit that search. I adore this film and highly recommend it.

Jay H. gave it a7:
Poignant and moving, perceptively directed by Nadine Labaki. Most of the acting is excellent. Fascinating film throughout, so touchingly done. It shows how similar we all are, no matter where in the world.

Yiannis M. gave it a10:
This movie is as sweet as a caramel and a chocolate! And you need a chocolate bar every single day! I am watching this movie every day and the chocolate melts in my mouth! Well done Nadine and Lebanon! May peace come back to you!

Caramel Roadside Attractions

Caramel
Roadside Attractions