Event Details
Ojai Film Society Screening - Caramel
Sun, May 11, 2008 at 4:30pm
Ojai Playhouse, 145 East Ojai Avenue, Ojai
Event Description
The Ojai Film Society will screen the movie, Caramel.
France/Lebanon 2007 (1 hr, 35 min) Rated PG
USA Today described this small, enchanting film as “a sweeter and more believable version of Steel Magnolias, Middle Eastern style.” Set largely in a neighborhood beauty parlor in Beirut, where women of various shapes, sizes, ages and backgrounds gather to bond and gossip, the film traces the complications and contradictions in the lives of five women who are looking for romance and fulfillment in a city divided not only by tensions between Christians and Muslims, but by the daily clash – sometimes subtle, sometimes horrifying – of tradition and modernity.
The film’s chief focus is the bonding between women who rely on each for support. The thirty-something owner of the salon is a Christian named Layale (played by Nadine Labaki, who also co-wrote and directed) who is having an affair with a married man. This is her only chance for love, since – like most single women in Lebanon – she still lives with her parents. Her best friend, Nisrine, is a Shiite Muslim whose family is so strict that she must change clothes before returning home. In Nisrine’s neighborhood, sitting in a car and talking to a man can lead to arrest for indecent activity. Perhaps the most poignant situation of all, however, is that of Rima; she is attracted to women in a society that will not even acknowledge, let alone condone, same-sex romance.
Told with gentle humor and steering clear of pat resolutions, the movie celebrates the power of female friendship and the importance of safe havens in repressive cultures. “Sweet but not saccharine,” wrote Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times, “this is an intimate film that doesn’t stint on the desperation and anxiety that go along with the search for love.”
Prices are: $8 - General admission $5 - Seniors 65+ $5 - Students (with ID) FREE - OFS sponsors
- Sponsored By
Ojai Film Society
- More Information
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Phone: 805-646-8946
