Capernaum

Name: Capernaum
Genre: Drama
Released: December 14, 2018
Duration: 126 min
Rating: 75
Cast: Alaa Chouchnieh, Boluwatife Treasure Bankole, Elias Khoury, Fadi Yousef, Ghida Majzoub

2018

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews

See All

USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 108 Ratings

See All

8.2

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

8.2	Your Score
8.2	User Score Universal acclaim based on 108 Ratings

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Play Sound

Please enter your birth date to watch this video:

You are not allowed to view this material at this time.

Capernaum: Rahil

Now Playing: Capernaum: Rahil

Movie Details & Credits

Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: December 14, 2018 | R

Starring: Alaa Chouchnieh, Boluwatife Treasure Bankole, Elias Khoury, Fadi Yousef, Ghida Majzoub, Haita 'Cedra' Izzam, Joseph Jimbazian, Kawsar Al Haddad, Kawthar Al Haddad, Nadine Labaki, Nour El Husseini, Samira Chalhoub, Yordanos Shiferaw, Zain Al Rafeea

Movie Facts:

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

Summary: Capernaum (Chaos) tells the story of Zain (Zain al Rafeea), a Lebanese boy who sues his parents for the "crime" of giving him life. Capernaum follows Zain, a gutsy streetwise child as he flees his negligent parents, survives through his wits on the streets, takes care of Ethiopian refugee Rahil (Yordanos Shiferaw) and her baby son, YonasCapernaum (Chaos) tells the story of Zain (Zain al Rafeea), a Lebanese boy who sues his parents for the "crime" of giving him life. Capernaum follows Zain, a gutsy streetwise child as he flees his negligent parents, survives through his wits on the streets, takes care of Ethiopian refugee Rahil (Yordanos Shiferaw) and her baby son, Yonas (Boluwatife Treasure Bankole), being jailed for a crime, and finally, seeks justice in a courtroom. [Sony Pictures Classics]… Expand

Director: Nadine Labaki

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: R

Runtime: 126 min

See All Details and Credits

Watch Now

Buy on

Stream On

Expand

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

100

Soren Andersen

Feb 7, 2019

Capernaum is a searing, unforgettable work. Read full review

Ty Burr

Jan 23, 2019

Capernaum is a hard, hard watch meant to force comfortable moviegoers out of their bubbles of ease. The rewards, in no particular order, are the central figure, the young actor playing him, and the film’s magnanimous windows onto suffering and resilience. Read full review

The Film Stage Jared Mobarak

Sep 9, 2018

Capernaum is a poignant character study of a boy being punished for the crimes of a system that never gave him a chance. Read full review

Emily Yoshida

Dec 12, 2018

It’s a deeply assured piece of direction, and though it only plays a few emotional notes, they are ones that won’t soon leave your memory. Read full review

Richard Whittaker

Jan 30, 2019

Capernaum is as close to unfiltered truth as the screen or the audience can handle. Set in the slums of Beirut, it is an eye-opening insight into life at the frayed fringes of a society that seems seconds from unraveling. Read full review

Leslie Felperin

May 18, 2018

Although the narrative is structured through a highly unbelievable instigating conceit — Zain is trying to sue his own parents in court for giving him life in the first place — Labaki lures such outstanding performances out of the almost entirely non-professional cast and sketches such a credible view of this wretchedly poor milieu that the flaws are mostly forgivable. Read full review

Diego Semerene

Dec 4, 2018

Zain Al Rafeea's naturalness, however uncanny, only makes the film's maneuverings seem all the more obvious. Read full review

SEE ALL 33 REVIEWS

Write a Review

User Reviews

NightReviews

Feb 12, 2019

In the early chapters of my life, Lebanon was an elusive figure of my imagination. Being born and raised in Toronto, I would hear stories of my homeland from my cousins, uncles and grandmothers. From their descriptions of the countryside, my homeland played in my mind like a fantastic WildIn the early chapters of my life, Lebanon was an elusive figure of my imagination. Being born and raised in Toronto, I would hear stories of my homeland from my cousins, uncles and grandmothers. From their descriptions of the countryside, my homeland played in my mind like a fantastic Wild West; the stories always had an underlying sense that the country was a type of Eden, a magical place with magical people, a gem placed perfectly in the midst of chaos.

When I made my first trip to the country I was twelve years old. My familial roots trace back to the northern part of the country to a town called Joub Janine in a region known as the Beqaa Valley which is nestled right below the currently devastatingly war-torn Syria. My experiences were life altering; a colossal shift to my consciousness occurred about the world we live in and how that sucker spins, how you can enter a world so electric and alien to your own world with just a 12 hour flight by plane.

My first visit due to age was made up of primarily the country’s decadent cuisine and visits to my family.

I went back at the age of seventeen with my brother for three weeks, and it was then that my Wild West fantasy began to take true form in reality. Streets cross each other making a labyrinth of life, electric lines lay over and under and all around each other, looming above the streets like a friendly spider’s web. The youth is passionate and wild, full of life and wisdom gathered from their surroundings complete with beautiful flowing hair and beautifully wrapped Hijabs rest on the woman as they socialize, smoking tobacco out of hookah pipes that give off the most fragrant of aromas. This aroma follows you, like the sun that stays on your shoulders with strength, or the full flavored tobacco that wafts through the streets and barber shop. The barber shop that is run by a man who’s lost his tongue in the war yet he still knows just what you want from your hand signals. Lebanese like to use their hands when they talk, they throw them down towards the floor like they are letting go of weights and point as if they were being cut from a Tintin comic strip. Firearms are readily available and commonplace yet no one ever shoots each other, they are carried for their destined use of protection, and perhaps the occasional couple of discharges in the many farm fields of the country. Seatbelts are ignored and so are road signs, if any, yet everyone seems to get along just fine. Some ride in German automobiles while some entire families ride on one motorized scooter, newborns and all.

Capernaum, the newest film by Nadine Labaki shows just how exceptionally talented the renowned Lebanese auteur is at capturing that land that holds my heart, and hers as well. Her style is, if comparable, reminiscent of the flavour of Larry Clark’s Kids, with a dash of Paul Greengrass’s Green Zone, and many hints of Vittorio Di Sica’s brilliant Umberto D. The film is poignant; revolving completely around the world of a twelve-year old boy named Zain (Zain Al Rafeea). He lives in a steamy, crammed apartment with his band of siblings, and neglectful mother (Fadi Yousef) and father (Kawsar Al Haddad) in a war-torn neighborhood in Beirut. His parents out of devastating desperation give their daughter to the landlord of their building in hopes of leniency with their payment of rent, an act that naturally enrages Zain, causing him to run away from his family into the abyss of Beirut.

In his journey of self-preservation destiny he meets an Ethiopian migrant worker Rahil (Yordanos Shiferaw). Rahil has an infant child of her own name Yonas (Boluwatife Treasure Bankole), who gives such a contribution to the organic documentary inspired style that is truly remarkable. Rahil takes Zain under her care for some time providing some of the most beautifully shot scenes of intimacy in cinema over the past little while. The film’s heart is transcended through Zain and Yonas; their acting is so poetic, watching these two children interact, with the slightest of movements, give elusive kinetic energy that never feels premeditated in the slightest.

Drama ultimately knocks on the films door and heartbreak occurs with Zain climatically commits a violent act causing him to stand in court with his parents. He declares hatred for his parents and seeks justice for them giving him life when they have no intention to properly love or care for him, as well as his siblings. This embodies the idea of Capernaum which is according to Libaki “to give a voice to children who otherwise do not have one.”

I have watched a select couple of brief scenes from Labaki’s previous films, yet never have I seen one in its entirety and this was quite the film to start me off. The opening sequence is melodious; we see Zain with a number of other children, horse playing through the tangles of flights of stairs and street corners of the neighbourhood.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

ThatFilmGuy20

Feb 27, 2019

Capernaum is a gutwrenching story that will leave you with tears in your eyes, this is a brilliant exercise in realism that explores its theme with no boundaries or limits, it dives in and it tells a poignant and a raw story that will shake your very existence with its powerful imagery thatCapernaum is a gutwrenching story that will leave you with tears in your eyes, this is a brilliant exercise in realism that explores its theme with no boundaries or limits, it dives in and it tells a poignant and a raw story that will shake your very existence with its powerful imagery that tells a story of its own, when it comes to realism in film it's always compromisable but here it's the whole essence of the film, everything is centered on reality and how cruel it can be, Capernaum doesn't take shortcuts as well, it tells it as it is, Nadine Labaki the director carefully and delicately let her sequences do a lot of talking even when dialogue is absent, it is articulate to a point where words are not needed to make a statement, Labaki's cast is nothing short of perfect, Zain who plays the kid in the film performed flawlessly, he moved me to tears many times throughout the film with his words and mannerisms, I love how everything was authentic to a point where you'll actually believe that you're watching a real life documentary about real life people, that's how powerful Capernaum is, it captured a state of humanity that often people deliberately chose to ignore just because they can't process the situation or understand it, films like these are necessary to remind people that we're all human being and we all need help no matter who we are and how much money or power we have, we were created to work thorough our problems and help each other along the way, sadly empathy has become a rare commodity in the world we live nowadays. Capernaum is daring and it screams realism, I can honestly say that this is one of the best films I have ever seen in my life, in other words, this is a work of art.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

GinaK

Feb 6, 2019

The “frame” of Capernaum is the court case of Zain, a young Lebanese boy who sues his parents for abandoning him. But what we see for two hours is the incredible story of a selfless, courageous, and incredibly energetic child who does what his parents neglect to do – he takes care of aThe “frame” of Capernaum is the court case of Zain, a young Lebanese boy who sues his parents for abandoning him. But what we see for two hours is the incredible story of a selfless, courageous, and incredibly energetic child who does what his parents neglect to do – he takes care of a younger child and the child’s mother, going to great lengths to feed the younger boy and keep him safe, eventually saving the baby’s mother and putting the adults in the story to shame. The boundless energy and single-mindedness of Zain are in stark contrast to his lazy and disinterested parents. It’s an incredible and exhausting story, full of the boy’s energy, courage, and goodness in a dark, chaotic world.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

nikos3194

Jul 24, 2023

A powerful and thought-provoking movie that explores the themes of poverty, injustice, and the human condition. It’s a movie that will make you think deeply about the world we live in and the struggles that people face every day. The film is a must-see for anyone who loves great storytelling.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

DawdlingPoet

Nov 20, 2021

This is a quite sombre, touching film which reminded me a little of Slumdog Millionaire, only without the music. It'd take a hard person not to feel sorry for the main character, Zain. It's frustrating and thought-provoking, with a particularly poignant ending I felt. I would recommend thisThis is a quite sombre, touching film which reminded me a little of Slumdog Millionaire, only without the music. It'd take a hard person not to feel sorry for the main character, Zain. It's frustrating and thought-provoking, with a particularly poignant ending I felt. I would recommend this film, as long as you know that its quite gritty and dark in tone - a good piece of social commentary I suppose.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

gracjanski

Sep 26, 2019

a very serious movie that made me a bit annoying, because I dont like to see so much tragedy caused by idiots.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Sarinakedi

Dec 16, 2018

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. When journalists question Labaki about her “film”, she mentions the great political cause that drove her to make it. She speaks of the misery she witnessed, the poor street children whom she drove by one day, her lucky young actor who was granted a visa to Norway thanks to her impactful film, etc. But she carefully avoids talking about… her film. She’d much rather talk about everything around it, leaving aside any potential ideas regarding her actual cinema. Why? Because she doesn’t have a distinct cinematic voice, so she really doesn’t have anything interesting to say about her own film. And because, as Godard said, “cinema is a form that thinks and a thought that forms”, this complete lack of voice is obvious in her film, which is full of gimmicks, superfluous scenes, and an outrageous “cathartic happy end” worthy of a propaganda film: a (deplorable) government, a lawyer (shamelessly played by Labaki herself) and the media (known for their unprofessionalism) all contribute to rescue the hero, punish the bad guys and restore order and justice. (I say the Lebanese government is “deplorable” because it still practices torture, gender discrimination, racial discrimination, among a variety of other human rights violations). Formally, the film is shot with a Steadicam and the few drone shots are just there to highlight urban poverty. The fast-paced editing doesn’t leave the audience time to actually look at faces and find genuine expressions in them. Our eyes are never free to wander around the frame - viewers don’t even have time to think, because they’re being held hostage by this chaotic and tearjerking mise-en-scene which desperately begs for their empathy but quickly becomes irritating.

Labaki invented a new genre: the cinema-mensonge. Canne's Thierry Frémaux made her famous, probably for strategic reasons. But that’s his problem. Film critics and cinephiles are not blind, and they saw the film for what it is: a calculated exploitation of misery made by an uninspired and narcissistic filmmaker.… Expand

1 of 12 users found this helpful111

SEE ALL 19 REVIEWS