Labaki elicits expressive performances from a cast of amateurs, aided by Khalad Mouzanar's entrancing score and Yves Sehnaoui's lush cinematography.
Comment
03/28/08
Caramel (2008)
92
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:74
Fresh:68
Rotten:6
Average Rating:7.1/10
Consensus: Caramel is both an astute cultural study, and a charming comedic drama from a talented newcomer.
Theatrical Release:16-05-2008
Synopsis: Warm and sweet, this Lebanese film lives up to its titular substance without ever being too sugary. Actress Nadine Labaki cowrote and directed CARAMEL, an ensemble comedy set in and around a Beirut... [More]
Starring: Nadine Labaki, Yasmine Al Masri, Joanna Moukarzel, Gisele Aouad
Director: Nadine Labaki
Reviews for Caramel
Perceptive and poignant, Caramel observes the love lives of the establishment's owner, her employees and their customers.
03/28/08
Top CriticThere's a pleasant, easygoing charm to Caramel, largely stemming from Labaki's rare determination to depict Beirut as something other than a war-torn, slowly recovering battleground.
03/27/08
Its chief focus is the bonding between women who rely on each for support, and who really appreciate a place where they can let down their hair.
03/07/08
Caramel is a warm, funny and compassionate movie that examines five women who are at very different stages in their lives, each one with a particular problem to work out.
03/02/08
I like the way (Nadine) Labaki brings character depth to everyone in her sizable ensemble.
03/01/08
Filmgoers expecting My Big Fat Lebanese Waxing are in for a bigger treat: Nadine Labaki, who wrote and directed the film, possesses an astute instinct for restraint that makes Caramel smarter ans more poignantthan the average chick flick.
02/28/08
Groundbreaking it is not. But it follows the familiar path cheerfully enough, and it paints a vivid, movie-friendly picture of a woman's life in Lebanon.
02/28/08
[Writer-Director] Labaki writes and directs with a sure hand for capturing universal truths.
02/22/08
A light-hearted yet razor-smart, bittersweet comedy about life in Beirut.
02/22/08
As sugary as it may be, Caramel has a likeable edge to it, both in the natural performances of the mostly non-professional cast and the script's sardonic bluntness about social hypocrisies and the women's self-deception.
02/22/08
A delectable slice of life whose flavors are rarely available on these Western shores.
02/22/08
Caramel finds a big-hearted, Mira Nair-ish groove. The characters are gorgeous. And [director] Labaki gets terrific performances out of a largely nonprofessional cast.
02/15/08
One of those small films that give a glimpse into a culture that's both foreign and familiar. It's filled with real-life touches and small insights and wonderfully human characters, and the whole thing feels as real as crossing the street.
02/08/08
In a culture where female sexuality is problematic at best, how is a woman supposed to feed both body and heart? Through makeovers, support, and necessary lies, Caramel curtly answers.
02/08/08
In the Beirut beauty salon where most of Caramel takes place, women of various shapes, sizes, ages and backgrounds gather to bond and gossip.
02/04/08
Top CriticConsider it 'Fried Green Falafel.'
02/03/08
...might sound like a sitcomish retread of France's Venus Beauty Institute, but Labaki's film, like its name, is something warmer and more soulful.
02/02/08
A gentle and pleasant soap opera done in a fairly high cinematic style. The characters are far too attractive and the plot too simplistic, but the film grows on the viewer as the minutes glide by.
02/01/08
The penetrating musical score, with its memorable shadings of emotional danger, the snappy and confident pacing and the emergence of 33-year-old Labaki as an international talent to watch all combine to make the film satisfying confection.
02/01/08
Latest News for Caramel
June 22, 2008:
Ritual and rebellion collide in this bittersweet confection casting a rare gaze upon the pleasures, sorrows, dreams and sexual desires of Arab women in the Middle East. 
More...
January 31, 2008:
Critics Consensus: Over Her Dead Body is DOA, Guess The Eye's & Strange Wilderness' Tomatometer!
This week at the movies, we've got creepy visions (The Eye, starring Jessica Alba), haunted romances (Over Her Dead Body, starring Paul Rudd and Eva Longoria Parker), woodland... More...
January 27, 2008:
Ritual and rebellion collide in this bittersweet confection casting a rare gaze upon the pleasures, sorrows, dreams and sexual desires of Arab women in the Middle East.
More...
January 19, 2008:
Trailer & Poster review
More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
RT on YouTube
Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.
RT on Twitter
Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.
IGN RSS Feeds