Caramel - 'Soul Food'

As I drove down all the way to Andheri from Filmcity, battling the horrible Mumbai traffic, trying to ignore the stupid headache that had been pestering me since afternoon, all that was going on in my head was- 'Please God PLEASE, let there be at least ONE film at this film festival that makes this trip worthwhile' and I guess the one up there in the extreme north was in a happy mood that evening .... maybe he had just had an extra special preview screening of Nadine Labaki's intensely gorgeous and heartfelt film - 'CARAMEL'


This amazingly beautiful Lebanese film tells the story of a group of women who run a salon , which in fact, is a metaphor for the Utopian world that all of us pine to live in. Its only when these women step out of this Utopia and face the realities of life's simple and not so simple issues, that they learn how to live.

...From a woman going through medical procedures to be a virgin again for her unsuspecting groom-to-be... to a woman trying to cope with her physical desires for another woman...to a woman who carries on a hopeless – but very satisfying – affair with a married man.


It was a great experience watching the film and then being able to converse with the director as soon as the film got over. The beautiful Nadine Labaki herself, who was grace personified, accompanied by her husband who happens to be the background music scorer for the film.


'Caramel' is undoubtedly the most heart warming international film I've seen after Majid Majidi's 'Children of Heaven'. I doubt that it'll be possible for most of you readers to watch the film on a big screen but I'd recommend this film on DVD to anyone who just wishes to get a smile on their face while they hanve an experience as sweet as ....you guessed it... Caramel !!!