Sukkar Banat - Caramel

Oddly enough I was writing an essay on culture when I interrupted to go to the threatre and watch this film. Touché!
Caramel tells the story of five women in a Beirut beauty salon, their lives and dreams. The tone is simple, intimate, the characters are different from each other but all of them transport a bit of all of us, women or not. The title chosen Caramel is the product used for hair removal - both sweet and bitter as it implies beauty but inflicts pain.
Caramel offers the viewer the acquaintance of everyday, believable people you can care about full of vitality and good humor.
This is a film about woman's inner being; men are in the background and the women's disorders are all exposed in a very elegant way. Uncertainty of life, sexuality, marriage, mid life crisis and elderly all put together in a colorful plot of innocent people.
It's a must. A film that shows interesting facts about the Libanese culture and that, at the same time, reveals that the human being is not that different. It pauses when it should, lights go off when they should, stitchery and tailoring happen when needed.
It's heartwarming, it's tear-jerking, it's laugh-inspiring. It made me laugh, smile, think, cry and question life and some of our attitudes. What else can we ask for?