Bittersweet

Caramel is a charming and intimate portrayal of the lives of five Lebanese women who are each struggling with their own unavoidable life circumstance. The heartbreaking sadness of the plot is offset by a hilarity that emerges in the common area of a beauty salon where they share love, laughter, and friendship.

The film addresses social issues in modern day Beirut and specifically, the actions of women that are so heavily scrutinized. The pressure of such social norms in terms of love, sex, marriage, and shame forces many of these strong women to maintain a certain façade of appropriate behaviour, balancing family and religion with their own increasingly modern, western attitudes.

There's a methodical nature about the film, a warm orange hue that feels like caramel, and a soundtrack of sensual Lebanese music that envelops this tale in a sweetness, attaching you to the depth and happiness of each character.

The film goes back and forth from scenes and each story without much transition, and up-close shots of the characters quickly familiarize you with the women and their way of handling life's obstacles. You're left wanting more of one character only for as long as you soon become deeply involved with the next.

All of the women, none of whom were professional actors, are stunningly beautiful, and they exude a level of sensuality and confidence that is sharply contrasted by their constant attempts to satisfy societal expectations.

One is torn apart by an unrequited love for a married man and addicted to knowing more about the woman he has chosen over her. She is superbly played by writer and director of the film Nadine Labaki as Layele, who is the owner of the salon, Si Belle.

Layele is loved from afar by a local police officer who, in one scene, says, “She looks at me without seeing me.” Layele is so blinded by her forbidden love that she can't see the opportunity for happiness right in front of her. She attempts to balance pleasing her family and satisfying her religious beliefs with the major social taboo of being a man's mistress.