Cinema World Tour, Film #12
Country: Lebanon
Watched in: Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India
Rating: 9.5/10
„Fuck this crappy country.“
Capernaum was the biggest surprise of the last weeks for me. The use of super-realism, the absolutely incredible performance by Syrian actor Zain Al Rafeea, himself found by director Nadine Labaki when he was still a street kid in Beirut. The cinematography and editing of this film are outstanding, Capernaum shows you images you've never seen before, full of sorrow but at the same time, always full of beauty and wit. The film walks the thin line between tragedy and comedy, especially through the protagonist, one of the most well-written and at the same time most natural characters I've witnessed on screen in a long time. It's one of these rare films which you don't ever want to stop.
Many critics have been a bit strict with this work: for example that Labaki concentrates too much on her message, and that the message is too literal. Other film critics argued that the film doesn't connect the boy's misery to the political and economical system, which makes it therefore too individualistic. And yes, normally I would agree with both, but not after actually seeing Capernaum. In my eyes, it's pretty clear that the film is in fact criticizing society, not literally poor parents which give birth. The film's message is NOT that people from lower social classes should forever stop having children. The film's point is to show the anger, which neglected kids have. A kid wouldn't go to court and ask for a revolution so that and the redistribution of wealth. The film uses this drastic message to represent these children from the bottom of society and to show us how desperate they are. Of course, the viewer's task is it to think about how to actively change that. The task of Capernaum's protagonist, whose point of view we experience the story from, is to survive, and make the best of his misery. And to express his anger, he chooses a drastic point in court- the only idea he gets. Because as Labaki shows us in many scenes, despite his thoughness, the protagonist is still a little child, who has seen way too much already.
Capernaum instantly became one of my absolute favourites. It is maybe sometimes a bit too long, especially in the middle, but after all, very near to being a masterpiece. Lebanon definitely became my new top destination I want to travel to, and I am sure I will rewatch this film in very near future.
Write a comment