Capernaum (Arabic Language) (2018)

Review

126min

Genre:       Crime, Drama

Director:    Nadine Labaki

Cast:         Zain Al Rafeea, Yordanos Shiferaw, Kawsar Al Haddad…more

Writers:     Nadine Labaki, Jihad Hojeily and Michelle Keserwany

-Synopsis-

Streetwise twelve-year-old ‘Zain’ lives a tough life on the streets of the Lebanese capital, estranged from his family and drawn to Ethiopian refugee ‘Rahil’ and her baby son while relying on his wits to stay alive, but when he’s sent to jail for a violent crime, this pre-teen ‘adult’ takes a drastic step to seek justice—suing his parents for the crime of giving him life.

From virtually the start of her feature film career, Lebanese screen star Nadine Labaki has shown her intent towards being a fully-fledged filmmaker, making herself comfortable in the director’s chair while starring in comedy/dramas and romances which captured the attention of Lebanese audiences and international film festivals. Now the Beirut writer/director truly comes into her own, taking a step back into brief supporting role territory while focusing her lens on an extraordinary breakout child performance—delivering a nuanced and powerful call for social justice . . . while giving us a street urchin drama for the ages.

Young newcomer Zain Al Rafeea stars as Zain himself, a hard-nosed, straight-talking young hustler working the streets of Beirut, living in overcrowded conditions with his neglectful parents and multiple siblings, while struggling to protect his sister ‘Sahar’ (Haita ‘Cedra’ Izzam). When things come to a head in the family, Zain flees and branches out on his own, crossing paths with Ethiopian refugee and illegal migrant Rahil (Yordanos Shiferaw) and her adorable infant boy ‘Yonas’ (Boluwatife Treasure Bankole), combining their daily struggles and forming an unconventional family doomed to fail, while Zain heads towards a disaster which captures the attention of the media and causes a sensation . . . putting his tragic life centre stage.

In the pantheon of ‘street kid’ dramas set in the less economically developed word, ‘Capernaum’ carves out a place for itself near the very top, going toe-to-toe with films like 1981’s groundbreaking bleak Brazilian drama ‘Pixote’ and Fernando Meirelles’ more vibrant 2002 alternative ‘City of God’, or Danny Boyle’s Oscar-winning Mumbai masterpiece ‘Slumdog Millionaire’—and although Labaki’s film is less stylised, energetic and graphic, it’s easily as heart-wrenching, and more moving.

Yet ‘Capernaum’—whose title is a biblical reference to “Jesus’ own city”, but means chaos in French—has more than its share of charm and humour too, usually coming in the form of blunt uncomfortable truths and colourful language coming out of the mouths of babes, beautifully choreographed to cut straight to the nerve of thorny social subjects like neglect and abuse, inhumane treatment and exploitation.

Created over a long gestation period and with limited resources, ‘Capernaum’ is also en expertly crafted urban drama, naturalistically shot by German-Lebanese cinematographer Christopher Aoun, who employs a dynamic constantly moving camera, and vibrantly scored by composer and the director’s husband Khaled Mouzanar.

The film is blessed with an array of impressive naturalistic performances, from a cast which blends established older actors with amateur younger ones, often plucked off the street and whose lives reflect those of their characters, including real-life Eritrean refugee Yordanos Shiferaw who plays Ethiopian refugee Rahil with heartbreaking honesty and authenticity—not to mention her adorable scene-stealing movie baby Yonas played by Boluwatife Treasure Bankole, a refugee herself.

Yet there’s only one true star of this show, and that’s the hugely charismatic lead and main character’s namesake Zain Al Rafeea. Himself a real-life refugee having fled the intractable Syrian civil war, likely drawing on his experiences to beautifully portray a haunted young soul through a cold gaze, effortlessly bringing to life a jaded, street-smart no-nonsense survivor who’s twelve going on fifty—yet occasionally hinting at hope and an open heart . . . particularly when he shares the scene with his darling infant co-star.

Labaki’s powerful and nuanced meditation on the plight of society’s dregs and disposables is clearly a call for humanity and social justice for the most deprived and invisible, particularly from the point of view of children, with something to say about the destabilisation of the Middle East and its effect on the most vulnerable. But it’s far from an ultra-liberal rallying cry from the bleeding heart, but rather a very human and measured wail from the soul. In fact what the film and Zain himself have to say about personal responsibility and parental suitability might prove confronting, if not god forbid offensive to some ‘progressive’ audiences—but it’s unfailingly honest, as is the film as a whole.

When it comes to the ‘Best Foreign Language Film’ race at the upcoming Academy Awards—the highest standard category in this year’s awards circuit—‘Capernaum’ will likely lose to Alfonso Cuarón’s industry favourite ‘Roma’. But we can think of almost no higher compliment than to dub Nadine Labaki’s latest one of the very best non-English language films of the last twelve months . . . and one of the greatest street child dramas in a generation.

The Bottom Line…

A bleak yet hopeful street urchin tale and an unflinching yet soulful social-realist drama, ‘Capernaum’ is a beautifully choreographed, lovingly made human story which champions the marginalised and confronts us with the plight of children, with no clichés or unnecessary sentimentality—potentially launching a stellar young career and raising the reputation of its writer/director into the global cinema stratosphere.

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