LIMSwiki
Contents
Capernaum | |
---|---|
Arabic | كفرناحوم |
Directed by | Nadine Labaki |
Screenplay by |
|
Story by |
|
Produced by |
|
Starring |
|
Cinematography | Christopher Aoun |
Edited by |
|
Music by | Khaled Mouzanar |
Production company | Mooz Films |
Distributed by | Sony Pictures Classics[1] |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 126 minutes[2] |
Country | Lebanon |
Language | Levantine Arabic |
Budget | $4 million |
Box office | $68.6 million[3] |
Capernaum (Arabic: كفرناحوم, romanized: Cafarnaüm) is a 2018 Lebanese drama film directed by Nadine Labaki and produced by Khaled Mouzanar. The screenplay was written by Labaki, Jihad Hojaily and Michelle Keserwany from a story by Labaki, Hojaily, Keserwany, Georges Khabbaz and Khaled Mouzanar. The film stars Syrian refugee child actor Zain Al Rafeea as Zain El Hajj, a 12-year-old living in the slums of Beirut. Capernaum is told in flashback format, focusing on Zain's life, including his encounter with an Ethiopian immigrant Rahil and her infant son Yonas, and leading up to his attempt to sue his parents for child neglect.
The film debuted at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, where it was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or,[4][5] and won the Jury Prize.[6][7] Capernaum received a 15-minute standing ovation following its premiere at Cannes on 17 May 2018.[8] Sony Pictures Classics, which had previously distributed Labaki's Where Do We Go Now?, bought North American and Latin American distribution rights for the film, while Wild Bunch retained the international rights.[9] It received a wider release on 20 September 2018.
Capernaum received critical acclaim, with particular praise given to Labaki's direction, Al Rafeea's performance and the film's "documentary-like realism".[10] Writing for The New York Times, Manohla Dargis and A. O. Scott named it as one of the greatest films of 2018.[11] It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards,[12] among several other accolades.
Capernaum is both the highest-grossing Arabic and Middle Eastern film of all time, after becoming a sleeper hit at the international box office with over $68 million worldwide, against a production budget of $4 million. Its largest international market is China, where it became a surprise blockbuster with over $54 million.
Plot
Zain El Hajj, a 12-year-old from the slums of Beirut, is serving a five-year prison sentence in Roumieh Prison for stabbing someone whom he refers to as a "son of a bitch". Neither Zain nor his parents know his exact date of birth as they never applied/received an official birth certificate. Zain is brought before a court, having decided to take civil action against his parents, his mother, Souad, and his father, Selim. When asked by the judge why he wants to sue his parents, Zain answers "Because I was born" (or, more precisely, "because you had me"). Meanwhile, Lebanese authorities process a group of migrant workers, including a young Ethiopian woman named Rahil.
The story then flashes back several months to before Zain was arrested. Zain lives with his parents and takes care of at least seven younger siblings who make money in various schemes instead of going to school. He uses forged prescriptions to purchase tramadol pills from multiple pharmacies, which they crush into powder and soak them into clothes, which his brother sells to drug addicts in prison. Zain also works as a delivery boy for Assad, the family's landlord, and the owner of a local market stall. One morning, Zain helps his 11-year-old sister Sahar to hide the evidence of her first period, fearing she will be married to Assad if her parents discover that she can now become pregnant.[13]
Zain makes plans to escape with Sahar and begin a new life. However, his suspicions are proven correct as her parents marry off Sahar to Assad in exchange for two chickens. Furious at his parents, Zain runs away and catches a bus, where he meets an elderly man dressed in a knock-off Spider-Man costume who calls himself "Cockroach Man". Cockroach Man gets off the bus at the Luna Park in Ras Beirut and Zain follows him, spending the rest of the day at the park. While on the Ferris wheel, Zain sees a beautiful sunset and begins to cry. Later, Zain meets Rahil, an Ethiopian migrant worker who is working as a cleaner at the park. She takes pity on Zain and agrees to let him live with her at her tin shack in exchange for Zain babysitting her undocumented infant son Yonas when she is at work.
Rahil's forged migrant documents are due to expire soon, and she does not have enough money to pay her forger Aspro for new documents. Aspro offers to forge the documents for free if she gives Yonas to him so that Yonas can be adopted. Rahil refuses, despite Aspro's claims that Yonas' undocumented status will mean he can never receive an education or be employed. Rahil's documents expire and she is arrested by Lebanese authorities. After she does not return to the shack, Zain panics. Several days pass, and Zain begins looking after Yonas on his own, claiming that they are brothers, and begins selling tramadol again to earn money.
One day, while at Souk Al Ahad, where Aspro is based, Zain meets a young girl named Maysoun. Maysoun is a Syrian refugee and claims that Aspro has agreed to send her to Sweden. Zain demands that Aspro send him to Sweden as well, which Aspro agrees to do if Zain gives him Yonas. After the landlord has locked him out of Rahil's house where all his money and things are, Zain reluctantly agrees and leaves Yonas with him. Aspro tells him that he will need some form of identification to become a refugee. Zain returns to his parents and demands they give him his identification, to which they laughingly tell him he doesn't have any. Having disowned him for leaving, they kick him out of their house, but not before revealing that Sahar had recently died due to difficulties with her pregnancy. Furious, Zain takes a large knife, runs out the house and stabs Assad. Zain is arrested and sentenced to five years at Roumieh Prison.
While in prison, during a visit from his mother, Zain learns that Souad is pregnant yet again and plans to name the child Sahar. Disgusted by his mother's lack of remorse for her daughter's death, he tells her not to visit again, calling her "heartless". During a TV show requesting call-in commentary on child abuse, Zain contacts the media and says that he is tired of parents neglecting their children and plans to sue his parents for continuing to have children when they cannot take care of them. When the judge asks him what he wants from his parents, he says "I want them to stop having children", as he does not want them to suffer the neglect he has. Zain also alleges that Aspro is adopting children illegally and mistreating them. Aspro's house is raided and the children and parents are reunited, including Yonas and Rahil.
Zain's photo is taken for his ID card. The photographer cracks a joke at Zain's sour disposition—"It's your ID card, not your death certificate"—and Zain manages a smile.
Cast
- Zain Al Rafeea as Zain El Hajj, a 12-year-old boy living in the slums of Beirut
- Yordanos Shiferaw as Rahil (also known as Tigest), an undocumented Ethiopian woman who works as a cleaner at an amusement park
- Boluwatife Treasure Bankole (a girl) as Yonas, Rahil's undocumented son[14]
- Kawthar Al Haddad as Souad, Zain's mother
- Fadi Kamel Youssef as Selim, Zain's father
- Nour el Husseini as Assad, the owner of a local market and Sahar's husband
- Alaa Chouchnieh as Aspro, Rahil's forger
- Cedra Izzam as Sahar, Zain's sister
- Nadine Labaki as Nadine, Zain's lawyer
- Joseph Jimbazian as Mr. Harout (also known as Cockroach Man), an employee at an amusement park
- Farah Hasno as Maysoun, a young Syrian refugee
Production
Screenwriter and director Nadine Labaki described the conception of the film:
At the end of the day, ... children are really paying a very high price for our conflicts, and our wars, and our systems, and our stupid decisions, and governments. I felt the need to talk about the problem, and I was thinking, if those children could talk, or could express themselves, what would they say? What would they tell us, this society that ignores them?[15]
The film was produced on a budget of $4 million.[16] Producer Khaled Mouzanar took out a mortgage on his house to raise a budget.[17]
Zain Al Rafeea, a Syrian refugee living in the slums of Beirut since 2012, was 12 during production.[18][19] Al Rafeea's character, Zain, is named for him.[15] Many of the other actors were novices, which Labaki described as necessary because she wanted "a real struggle on that big screen".[17] Al Rafeea contributed to shaping the film's dialogue, drawing on his experiences as a refugee living in a slum.[20]
Although Labaki is also an actress, she gave herself only a small role, preferring the realist actors to draw from their own experiences.[21] Shooting lasted six months and resulted in 500 hours[22] of rushes, which took her and her editing team a year and a half to edit down to 2 hours.[22] The first version of the film was 12 hours long,[18][22] but working in sometimes 24-hour editing shifts with her editors, she was able to cut the film in time. She became very close to her editing team over this period and referred to them, and her crew, as her family.
Reception
Box office
As of 26 May 2019, the film has grossed $68,583,867 worldwide,[3] against a production budget of $4 million.[16] It has become the highest-grossing Arabic film, and the highest-grossing Middle Eastern film of all time,[23] surpassing the $21 million box office record of Labaki's earlier film Where Do We Go Now? (2012).[24][25]
The film had a limited release in the United States and Canada on 14 December 2018.[26] The film went on to gross $1,661,096 in the United States and Canada, as of 30 May 2019.[27] Outside of the United States and Canada, the film has grossed $66.925 million in international markets, as of 26 May 2019.[3]
It released in China on 29 April 2019, and debuted at number two there, behind Avengers: Endgame.[28] Capernaum became a sleeper hit in China, with the help of strong word-of-mouth on Chinese social media (including platforms such as Douban and TikTok).[29] By 5 May 2019, Capernaum had grossed $25.22 million in China,[30] becoming the weekend's second top-grossing film internationally, behind only Avengers: Endgame.[31][32] By 16 May 2019, the film had crossed CN¥300 million ($44 million) in China,[29] in just over two weeks, becoming a surprise blockbuster at the Chinese box office.[33] As of 29 June 2019, the film has grossed $54,315,148 in China.[3]
Critical response
Capernaum has an approval rating of 90% based on reviews by 183 critics on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 7.9/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Capernaum hits hard, but rewards viewers with a smart, compassionate, and ultimately stirring picture of lives in the balance."[34] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 75 out of 100 based on reviews from 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[35]
Many reviews were highly positive. A. O. Scott of The New York Times ranked it as the ninth greatest film of 2018, writing "naturalism meets melodrama in this harrowing, hectic tale of a lost boy’s adventures in the slums and shantytowns of Beirut...Labaki refuses to lose sight of the exuberance, grit and humor that people hold onto even in moments of the greatest desperation."[11] Variety's Jay Weissberg judged Capernaum to represent a substantial improvement in Labaki's direction, bringing "intelligence and heart" to its issue.[36] The Hollywood Reporter critic Leslie Felperin called it an effective melodrama.[37] On Vulture.com, Emily Yoshida called Zain Al Rafeea "a startling, unforgettable presence". Yoshida also interpreted it as "one of the most forcefully pro-choice films I've ever seen", though abortion is not directly mentioned.[38]
Some reviews were more mixed. Writing for The A.V. Club, A.A. Dowd called the film a "sadness pile that confuses nonstop hardship for drama, begging for our tears at every moment".[39] IndieWire critic David Ehrlich also wrote a mixed review, calling it "an astonishing work of social-realism that's diluted (and ultimately defeated) by an array of severe miscalculations".[40]
Accolades
The film was selected as the Lebanese entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards.[41][42] It made the December shortlist in 2018,[43] before being nominated for the Academy Award in January 2019.[12]
See also
- List of submissions to the 91st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Lebanese submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Notes
^ Capernaum was a village in the Galilee region in the territory of the State of Israel; it was condemned by Jesus as one of the three settlements that refused to repent for its sins even after he performed miracles of healing there; in French, a capharnaüm is a place with a disorderly accumulation of objects; it is translated onscreen in this film as "Chaos."[78][79]
References
- ^ Keslassy, Elsa (10 May 2018). "Sony Pictures Classics Nabs Nadine Labaki's Palme d'Or Contender 'Capernaum'". Variety. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
- ^ "Capernaum (2018)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Cafarnaúm (2018) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
- ^ a b "The 2018 Official Selection". Cannes. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ^ "Cannes Lineup Includes New Films From Spike Lee, Jean-Luc Godard". Variety. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ^ a b Steve, Pond (19 May 2018). "'Shoplifters' Wins Palme d'Or at 2018 Cannes Film Festival". SF Gate. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
- ^ Debruge, Peter (19 May 2018). "2018 Cannes Film Festival Award Winners Announced". Variety. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
- ^ Sharf, Zack (17 May 2018). "Nadine Labaki's 'Capernaum' Earns Massive Cannes Standing Ovation and Instant Palme d'Or Winner Predictions".
- ^ Keslassy, Elsa (10 May 2018). "Sony Pictures Classics Nabs Nadine Labaki's Palme d'Or Contender 'Capernaum'".
- ^ "Capernaum (Capharnaüm) (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
- ^ a b Dargis, Manohla; Scott, A. O. (5 December 2018). "Best Movies of 2018". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
- ^ a b "Oscars 2019: The nominees in full". BBC News. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- ^ Bhasin, Nick (13 February 2019). "I thought I was strong, but 'Capharnaüm' tore me apart". SBS Movies. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
- ^ Robin Pomeroy, Hanna Rantala, "Tipped for Cannes glory, Beirut slum actors play their real lives", Reuters, 18 May 2018.
- ^ a b Grobar, Matt (15 November 2018). "'Capernaum' Director On The High Price Children Are Paying For Society's Mistakes — Awardsline Screening Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
- ^ a b "Labaki's film rights sold in 60 countries. Initial cost of Capharnaüm already covered". BusinessNews.com.lb. 12 May 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
- ^ a b Staff (21 November 2018). "'Capernaum' team on Cannes success and the importance of using non-professional actors". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
- ^ a b Welk, Brian (20 November 2018). "'Capernaum' Director Nadine Labaki Says Refugee Child Star Is Safe and Resettled (Video)". The Wrap. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
- ^ "Child actor's journey from slums to stardom". BBC News. 20 February 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
- ^ "From Syrian refugee to Oscar nominee, 'Capernaum' star gets second chance at childhood in Norway". Public Radio International. 21 February 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
- ^ Ritman, Alex (9 May 2018). "Cannes: Nadine Labaki on 'Capernaum' and Resisting the Lure of Hollywood". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
- ^ a b c Cannes interview with Cast and Crew of Capernaum, "All eyes on Ethiopian Actress Yordanos Shiferaw", retrieved 20 October 2019
- ^ "'Capernaum' Director Nadine Labaki Celebrates $40M+ Chinese Box Office: "It's a Big Surprise"". The Hollywood Reporter. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
- ^ "Lebanese filmmakers' movie 'Capharnaum' wins Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival". The Arab American News. 25 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (11 May 2018). "'Capernaum' Director Nadine Labaki Signs With CAA". Deadline. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
- ^ "Cafarnaúm". The Numbers. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
- ^ "Capernaum (2018)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
- ^ "Daily Box Office > China". EntGroup. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
- ^ a b Shackleton, Liz (16 May 2019). "How Nadine Labaki's 'Capernaum' became a $44m sleeper hit in China". Screen. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
- ^ "Daily Box Office > China". EntGroup. 5 May 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
- ^ "'Avengers Endgame' nears global record with over $2 billion". Houston Chronicle. 5 May 2019. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
- ^ Kabboul, Tamarah. "Labaki's Capernaum Ranks 2nd Top-Grossing Film in China Just After Avengers Endgame". www.the961.com. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
- ^ "INTERVIEW: Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki on heading a Cannes jury and the surprise success of 'Capernaum' in China". Arab News. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ^ "Capernaum (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "Capernaum (2018)". Metacritic. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ Weissberg, Jay (17 May 2018). "Film Review: 'Capernaum'". Variety. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
- ^ Felperin, Leslie (17 May 2018). "'Capharnaum': Film Review Cannes 2018". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
- ^ Yoshida, Emily (18 May 2018). "Prepare to Be Blown Away by the Child Actors in the Heartbreaking Capharnaüm". Vulture.com. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
- ^ Dowd, A.A. (18 May 2018). "The best movies of Cannes 2018, plus a serious Palme D'Or threat at the end of the festival". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
- ^ Ehrlich, David (18 May 2018). "'Capernaum' Review: Despite the Best Baby Performance Ever, Nadine Labaki's Latest Is a Well-Intentioned Mess — Cannes 2018". IndieWire. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
- ^ "الثقافة: فيلم المخرجة لبكي "كفرناحوم" الى الأوسكار". 14march.org. 18 September 2018. Archived from the original on 18 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Kozlov, Vladimir (18 September 2018). "Oscars: Lebanon Selects 'Capharnaum' for Foreign-Language Category". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
- ^ "Academy Unveils 2019 Oscar Shortlists". The Hollywood Reporter. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
- ^ "Oscar Nominees". 22 January 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- ^ "2018 EDA Award Nominees". Alliance of Women Film Journalists. Archived from the original on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
- ^ "2018 APSA Nominees Announced". Asia Pacific Screen Awards. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
- ^ Frater, Patrick (29 October 2018). "'Shoplifters' Takes Top Prize at Asia Pacific Screen Awards". Variety. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
- ^ Brown, Mark (9 January 2019). "EE British Academy Film Awards Nominees in 2019". British Academy Film Awards. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
- ^ Brown, Mark (31 October 2018). "The Favourite dominates British independent film award nominations". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
- ^ "2018 Audience & Fan Favourite Awards". Archived from the original on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
- ^ "Liste des Nominations aux Cesar 2019" (PDF). César Award. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- ^ "2018 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards". Chicago Film Critics Association. 7 December 2018. Archived from the original on 8 December 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
- ^ Harris, Hunter (10 December 2018). "The Favourite, Black Panther Lead Critics' Choice Awards Nominations". Vulture.com. Archived from the original on 11 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- ^ "Les lauréats des Prix La vague 2018 sont dévoilés". Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ "'Capharnaüm' wins the North Sea Port Audience Award". Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
- ^ "Les nominations pour Les Globes de Cristal 2019". Retrieved 27 November 2018.
- ^ "'Vice,' 'The Assassination of Gianni Versace' lead 2019 Golden Globe nominations". Los Angeles Times. 6 December 2018. Archived from the original on 6 December 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
- ^ "'BACURAU' É O GRANDE VENCEDOR DO 19º GRANDE PRÊMIO DO CINEMA BRASILEIRO". Academia Brasileira de Cinema. Archived from the original on 29 August 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ @AntalyaFilmFestivali (5 October 2018). "🍊 Genç Jüri Ödülü / Young Jury Award 🎬 Kefernahum / Capernaum" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ @AntalyaFilmFestivali (5 October 2018). "🍊 En İyi Erkek Oyuncu / Best Actor 🎬 Zain Al Rafeea (Kefernahum / Capernaum)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ @IFFR (1 February 2019). "Congratulations to the winner of the IFFR Audience Award!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Capernaum wins the LIFF 2018 Audience Award for Best Fiction Feature". Archived from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
- ^ "MIFF 2018 Audience Awards". Archived from the original on 3 December 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
- ^ "Capernaum wins the Gigi Guermont Audience Award!". Archived from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
- ^ "MVFF41 Audience Favorite". Retrieved 9 November 2018.
- ^ "Awards presented at The 46th Norwegian International Film Festival". 23 August 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
- ^ "2018 San Diego Film Critics Society Award Winners". San Diego Film Critics Society. 10 December 2018. Archived from the original on 10 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- ^ "City of Donostia / San Sebastian Audience Award". SSIFF. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
- ^ "42ª Mostra de Cinema de SP: mulheres são as grandes vencedoras". Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ "Audience Award of the 24th Sarajevo Film Festival". Sarajevo Film Festival. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
- ^ "Annual StLFCA Awards". St. Louis Film Critics Association. 9 December 2018. Archived from the original on 10 December 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ "Green Book Wins Best Film, Capernaum, The Push Win Awards at 2018 St. Louis International Film Festival". 12 November 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- ^ "Stockholm Festival Winners Jasmin Mozaffari, Crystal Moselle Talk About Next Projects". 17 November 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- ^ "Här är vinnaren av årets publikpris". 20 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
- ^ "Winners of the 24th Vilinus IFF". Vilnius International Film Festival. 6 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ Marr, Rhuaridh (3 December 2018). "'Roma,' 'A Star Is Born' lead winners at DC Film Critics awards". Metro Weekly. Archived from the original on 4 December 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
- ^ "Public Choice Award". World Soundtrack Awards. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
- ^ "Definition of CAPHARNAUM". www.merriam-webster.com.
- ^ "In 'Capernaum,' The Chaos Of Lebanon From A Homeless Child's Perspective". NPR.org.