Caramel: Critic Reviews

The kvetches of regulars at a cheery Beirut beauty salon couldn't be more familiar -- and that's the slender charm of Caramel, a Lebanese variation on sweetly soapy dramas about Women Who Bond With Wet Hair.

In the Beirut beauty salon where most of Caramel takes place, women of various shapes, sizes, ages and backgrounds gather to bond and gossip.

A sweeter and more believable version of Steel Magnolias, Middle Eastern style.

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.

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.

Don't expect an elegant, fully realized production. Do expect, though, to be touched and surprised by a string of intimate, urgent vignettes.

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.

Perceptive and poignant, Caramel observes the love lives of the establishment's owner, her employees and their customers.

There'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.

Labaki elicits expressive performances from a cast of amateurs, aided by Khalad Mouzanar's entrancing score and Yves Sehnaoui's lush cinematography.

Set in a culture caught between East and West, between male chauvinism and female empowerment, Labaki's movie isn't about to revolutionize a genre -- its charms are modest, but many.

Caramel is a bittersweet treat.

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.

A sweet affair, hiding any bitter undertones under a sprightly, glistening exterior.

Uneven, fluctuating between poignancy...and fluff.

[Writer-Director] Labaki writes and directs with a sure hand for capturing universal truths.

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.

It's a warm midwinter treat.

It's refreshing for a romantic comedy not to follow the formula by rote. I only wish I could be as enthusiastic about the amount of screen time accorded to certain characters who are more tedious than endearing.

Warm-hearted and accessible.

Just another good-looking, gently humorous, pleasantly romanticized little comedy, which ends with everyone a little wiser than they began.

It is sweet but not saccharine, an intimate film that doesn't stint on the desperation and anxiety that go along with the search for love.

It's one of the best films about women you're likely to see this year.

Taken together, the women tell a universal story about the beauty and battles of daily life.

Labaki, who co-wrote the film and also stars, maintains a knowing comic tone throughout.