Capernaum: Stadt der Hoffnung

Zain Al Rafeea is a terrific revelation in this powerful and profoundly devastating look at the miserable existence of a poor child who, like many others, deserved so much more from life - and I'm pretty sure his eyes of infinite sadness will haunt me for the rest of my life after this.

It's the missing question in the often heated debates about child poverty - I hear it all the time in my own country (UK) - has it risen? Should the government be doing more to help? How can a developed country tolerate children growing up in squalor? The question that is never asked, that is in fact completely taboo to even suggest, is why are people living in poverty having children? And is that moral?

It is the question asked by Zain, the protagonist of this superb film, who decides to sue his parents for having him. Having endured a lifetime of neglect, abuse and poverty he thinks no, and asks the court to prevent his parents from having anymore children.

That sets the film rolling, the vast majority of which takes place in flashback as we see how Zain ended up in court. Along the way we see the grim reality of life in the slums of Beirut, as Zain eventually decides to run away after his parents sell off his older (11 year old) sister in marriage to their landlord. He ends up living with an undocumented Ethiopian migrant who lives in a shack with her baby, and Zain ends up looking after the child while the mother works. This provides a counterpoint in many ways to the earlier scenes, as the threesome establish something akin to the warm loving home Zain had never known. But yet again, the films forces us to ask - why has this woman had a child? Though employed, she lives in squalor, and as an illegal migrant her child will never be able to get an education, as a local people trafficker trying to persuade her to sell the child reminds her. Is this moral? Does her right to have a child trump that of the child's right for a decent start in life?

The films develops from there, though I cannot reveal anymore without spoiling the final act. Though this isn't really a plot-driven film per se, more a slice-of-life look at Zain and how he deals with the situations life throws at him. This film reminded me very much of 'Salaam Bombay', Mira Nair's 1987 film which deals with street children in Mumbai.

It's a brave film and the only other film I can think of which tackles this issue is Ken Loach's 'Ladybird Ladybird', in which an impoverished woman with a chaotic home-life repeatedly gets pregnant. There I think Loach approached his protagonist from a more sympathetic perspective, seeing her as a victim of an unfair economic system and social forces beyond her control. Though I may be misreading her intention, Nadine Labaki takes this further and asks - is it basically selfish for people in these circumstances to have children?

Personally speaking - should the government (whether in rich or poor countries) be doing more to alleviate poverty? Yes. Is the economic system both within and between states currently too unequal? Yes. If you are stuck in poverty, dealing with poor mental health, drug addiction, illiteracy, malnutrition, slum-living condition - that sucks, and is unfair. But one thing you should not be doing is bringing children into that situation and thereby perpetuating the cycle of misery. Yes, some children rise above their circumstances, but the vast majority don't, and are thereby condemned to a miserable life through no fault of their own. It's the height of selfishness. This is the provocative question Labaki and Zain pose in this engrossing film.

Labaki excels in creating a masterpiece that should harvest as many awards as it can, and hopefully the Oscar. It is a heart breaking story with amazing protagonists performance. No one can expects an amazing acting coming from a child and a toddler of such ages! Will Zein be nominated for an Oscar? No one can deny that he deserves it. Labaki directed a marvelous film revealing a great pure talent.

Seeing this many fake reviews here with 1 star rating reveals that these "reviewers" are manipulating the overall rating of the movie with an unfair score. Anyone who actually watched the movie will give it an above than average rating no matter his taste.

I have taken so long to review this film because it has had so much of an emotional effect on me. It was also the first film I saw at AFI Festival and since I was genuinely shocked at how bad the subsequent films I saw there, I decided to get those out of the way first.

Well, here I am, giving my review on the most heart-wrenching yet most beautiful film I have ever seen. The "acting" was absolutely extraordinary (standouts are from a young eleven year old boy and a one year old baby). The score from the director's husband happens to be one of my favorite pieces of music from the decade. The cinematography manages to take some of the most disgusting places in the world and manages to give it beauty, especially through the gorgeous landscape and aerial shots.

Coming from a Lebanese female director, Capernaum is a film that discusses a variety of issues, but I will try to make it as simple as I can. In the present day, our main character, eleven year old Zain is a boy currently serving a sentence for stabbing a man. Through certain circumstances, Zain is able to take a break from jail to partake in a court case against his parents, where he is attempting to sue them for ever having him in the first place and to urge them to never have kids again. Through a series of flashbacks, we get to see Zain suffering in his large family of about seven to eight, including sisters of all ages, and two horribly misguided parents. The parents struggle financially, forcing their children to work long hours and never partake in school. The parents also abuse Zain for being extremely rebellious in nature (think of Rebel Without a Cause) and they starve him a lot. There is a lot of family issues here, but over the course of the film, Zain experiences a journey of a lifetime, running away from home and trying to make a life for himself, living life on the streets. Regardless of the amount of suffering Zain goes through, he delivers an utmost love and care for everyone around him.

Capernaum is an extraordinary film that won my heart in every way. It depicts the harsh realities of the children living in squalor in Lebanon, and perhaps in all of the Middle East. Filmed as a narrative, Capernaum actually uses real life Syrian refugees and kids who were all going through extremely similar circumstances to the ones found in this film. The director and her husband were their following the screening, and they really emphasized how they spent 100s of hours in Lebanon, ensuring that they experienced the squalor themselves and the interviewed hundreds of children to get an idea of what life is like there.

The common theme: "I wish I never lived" or "I wish my parents never had me."

The director took those two most common statements and developed a powerful film that gives humanity to these children who need it most. Perhaps the themes of love and compassion amidst squalor and pain could be a guiding light to all the children who are suffering in the foster care system or are getting abused here in the United States as well. I just hope Capernaum spreads awareness to all people throughout the world that child abuse is still rampant throughout the world, and all children want to be is loved. All people want to be is accepted and have a home. All people just wanted to be treated like a *queues Tommy Wiseau's voice* human being.

Honestly, I am proud to say this is currently my favorite film of all time. At two and a half hours long, I was begging for more at the end. Bring lots of tissues, but also do not be afraid to let loose and laugh a little.

Regardless of all the positive reviews for Roma, I am going to be rooting for Capernaum to win Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards. This experience changed my life, and I hope it does for you as well.

Fun Fact: The original cut was ten hours long.

Another fun fact: This received a 15 minute standing ovation at Cannes Film Festival, and it was well deserved.

To all the people who said this is a shameful representations of Syrians, you would know if you paid attention to the movie that the boy snd his family are actually Lebanese. Stop trying to bring attention to issues that are not even there in the first place. The movie is beautifully filmed and Labaki managed to capture so many issues present in our society (I say this as a Lebanese myself) in such a brilliant way.