Review of Caramel (2007) by Terri T — 20 Sep 2008

Perhaps it's because there doesn't seem to have been a particularly good film released here for months that this stood out to me as it did, that I embraced it more than I may have in a festival context, but a year and a half after this screened in cannes, I went in with modest expectations and came out with that great feeling that you have watched something surprisingly and affecting, that has touched you in some way.

of course we all react to films differently depending on the circumstances in which we watch them, but I never imagined that a little film set in a lebanese beauty parlour, that never once mentions politics (and that seems to exist in fact in a world without politics, so intimate is the setting and the characters that inhabit it), would be so enriching.

there is an unforced warmth to this film that is quite beautiful - the director and star, a real talent, working with a cast of non professionals. it's funny and sad, sometimes recalling vintage almodovar, and whilst I was a little disappointed in the ending, there's a truth to this film that manages to be crowd pleasing without compromising itself.