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Caramel
Roadside Attractions

Caramel reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 70 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
9.4 out of 10
based on 26 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 10 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

What The Critics Said

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...

88
TV Guide Ken Fox
A brisk dramatic comedy that combines melodrama, humor and social critique in equal measure.
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80
Empire Angie Errigo
An effective look at women's lives in a decidedly non-Hollywood setting.
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80
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.
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80
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.
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75
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.
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75
San Francisco Chronicle Walter Addiego
Well-made and modestly enjoyable.
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75
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."
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75
Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
Labaki, who studied filmmaking in Lebanon and France, has a deft touch and nice instincts.
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75
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.
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75
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
A Lebanese variation on sweetly soapy dramas about Women Who Bond With Wet Hair.
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75
The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin
At its best, Caramel boasts a quietly engaging slice-of-slice casualness.
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75
USA Today Claudia Puig
Caramel is a sweeter and more believable version of "Steel Magnolias," Middle Eastern style.
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75
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.
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70
Washington Post Ann Hornaday
Smarter and more poignant than the average chick flick.
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70
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.
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70
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.
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70
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.
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70
Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
It's a reassuring and delicious film, but in no sense an adventurous one.
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70
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.
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70
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.
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70
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.
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67
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.
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63
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.
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63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
The most unexpected thing about the Lebanese film Caramel is its predictability.
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50
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.
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50
Chicago Tribune Tasha Robinson
The film itself, while charming and gently funny, is entirely unexceptional.
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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 9.4 (out of 10) based on 10 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Beth C. gave it a9:
This is a very charming film that women will particularly enjoy. The characters are true-to-life and the descriptions of Lebanese life are fascinating. This is a great slice of life focused around the women at a Lebanese beauty shop, both touching and humorous.

Heba O. gave it a10:
it was real.. Nadine was very good in reflecting in a beautiful imagine the traditions, the contradictions and their effects on the lives of the Arabic women.

Marie M. gave it a10:
Very touching and enjoyable love it.

Tim M. gave it a10:
Thoroughly enjoyable! The score and cinematography are terrific, and the performances (especially Labaki's) are irresistible. Must-see.

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