nadine labaki Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Review: Caramel
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Gay & Lesbian », Independent », Romance », Theatrical Reviews », Cinematical Indie »
Admittedly, I'm one of those women who abhors the term "chick flick," though more because I find it an insult to the men in my life than to my fellow chicks. The mere existence of the term implies a film that "manly men" would only go to see if their wives or girlfriends drag them to it, because they couldn't possibly, all on their own, want to see a film about the relationships between women (unless, of course, there are some hot pillow fights or sex scenes involving the fairer sex). Caramel, directed by and starring Nadine Labaki, is a Lebanese version of the chick flick, but most of the men I know would enjoy it just as much as I did.
Set in and around a Beirut beauty salon, the film follows the lives of five women, each going through her own personal struggles. Layale (played by Labaki -- and I'll add here that she has a pair of the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen onscreen) is caught in a go-nowhere affair with a married man who has no interest in leaving his wife for her; he honks his horn outside her shop, and Layale comes running. Her friends stoutly disapprove, not so much of her having an extramarital affair, but of the willingness with which she allows her lover to use her. Layale cannot seem to break free of the affair, to the point that she develops an obsession for finding out more about her lover's wife and child, the better to understand the ties that bind him. Meanwhile, a lonely cop pines for Layale from afar.
TIFF Watch / Foreign-Language Oscar: South Korea, Lebanon Submit
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Foreign Language », Independent », Romance », Toronto International Film Festival », Cinematical Indie »
Two more countries have officially tossed their hats in the ring for the Foreign-Language Oscar, according to separate stories in Variety, and both selections are screening at the Toronto International Film Festival. South Korea's entry is Lee Chang-dong's Secret Sunshine. The well-regarded drama debuted at Cannes, where Jeon Do-yeon won the award for best actress. As the Variety story notes, she plays "a young widow who moves from Seoul to start over in a provincial city." Variety says that Secret Sunshine was selected over Kim Ki-duk's Breath (also a Cannes selection) and May 18, a box-office hit based on real events. In addition to its screenings in Toronto, Secret Sunshine will also be playing at the New York Film Festival and at AFI Fest in Los Angeles, but does not yet have US distribution.Another Variety story covers the general wariness of buyers toward the films on display in Toronto, but also reports that Lebanon officially selected Nadine Labaki's directorial debut Caramel as their Oscar entrant. According to Variety, the film opened in France and Lebanon in August and is already on course to become the top-grossing Lebanese release in those two territories. Caramel is a romantic comedy revolving around the lives of five women, set in and around a beauty salon in Beirut. The trailer at the official French site looks low-key and glossy. Jason Anderson at Eye Weekly called it "a Lebanese chick flick" that's "usually as fetching as it is familiar." Roadside Attractions has US distribution rights.
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