Capernaum Film Review – Children in the Land of Chaos

There are only a few scenes where we see the protagonist, Zain (Zain Al Rafeea), smile in Nadine Labaki’s Capernaum. As he goes on with his daily life, which for the most part is tumultuous, Zain makes up for the lack of opportunity with his sheer determination to survive in the harshest of conditions. Zain’s acting seems inspired from his own life as a refugee. Drawing on his personal experience as a child growing up in Lebanon, Zain gives an emotionally moving performance portraying a boy amidst the chaos, one that even a trained actor might not have been able to pull off with such authenticity as we see in the Capernaum film review.

For the most part, the movie seems like a realistic portrayal of life in the land of disharmony, as Zain along with his family, which includes his mother, father, and several siblings struggle day after day. When Capernaum wanders away from the madness of its surrounding, it isn’t as effective. Although what works for the movie is its minimal use of melodrama. When the real environment is so disorganized who needs to create artificial mellowness. Director Nadine knows when to push the envelope and when to play it soft. There are hard-hitting moments aplenty, but amongst them, there is also sufficient tenderness to balance the overall tone of the film.

The real-life Eritrean refugee, Yordanos Shiferaw, who plays a crucial part in the movie, is by far the standout performer among the supporting cast. Kawthar Al Haddad and Fadi Kamel Youssef who play Zain’s mother and father respectively serve the interest of the movie admirably as well.

There are scenes in the film, particularly in the second half, which are either stretched a tad too much or seem fabricated to induce emotions from the viewer. As such, these scenes did not work for me. However, there is a good chance that someone else might perceive them differently. None of this can take the credit away from the director who truly believes in her work and wants the world to see the appalling condition that the refugees are facing.

In one scene early on in the movie, Zain goes to great lengths to stop his father from marrying off his young sister, Sahar (Cedra Izam), to someone who he utterly despises. This scene reveals the rebellious as well as the tenacious character of the young Zain who will have to endure all kinds of hardships throughout the rest of the film.

Sitting in the comfort of a theatre seat, one can hardly fathom how cruel and unjust the world can be, and yet to the director’s credit, Capernaum did give me the shivers.

Capernaum is not going to appeal to the broader audience, but for those who appreciate hard-hitting, realistic cinema, this will be a treat to watch. Among other things, Zain’s acting and Nadine’s direction are something that no one can ignore. I waited for the end credits to get over before walking out of the auditorium.

Capernaum has won several accolades. Most notably, it was nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars and won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

Capernaum (Capharnaüm)

Runtime – Two hours and eight minutes

Director – Nadine Labaki

Cast – Zain Al Rafeea, Nadine Labaki, Cedra Izam, Yordanos Shiferaw, Boluwatife Treasure Bankole, Kawthar Al Haddad, Fadi Kamel Youssef

Language – Arabic,  Amharic

Capernaum film review rates Capernaum (4 / 5)

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