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Each day, millions of children around the world go hungry. Millions of children are forced to fight for survival on the streets. And in the Lebanese drama Capernaum, director Nadine Labaki tells the heartbreaking story of a little boy forced to grow up too soon on the streets of Beirut.
Capernaum follows 12-year-old Zain (Zain al Rafeea) through everyday life. When we first meet the wily young boy, he’s serving time for a very grown-up crime. And he’s decided to sue his parents for giving him life—a life that’s depicted throughout the rest of the film.
One of countless siblings, the tough, street-smart boy is forced to help with his mother’s drug enterprise and work for the convenience store owner who has his sights set on Zain’s younger sister. But when he runs away from home, he ends up in a new fight to survive.
Capernaum isn’t an easy film to watch. Though the charming little boy gives the film touches of humor, there isn’t a moment when viewers aren’t fully aware of the seriousness of the situation. Zain spends his days wandering through noisy streets filled with dark, dingy shacks—stealing, swindling, selling, and just plain begging to get by. At night, he squeezes into a room that’s crowded with his numerous siblings to try to get some sleep before doing it all over again. He sees other kids who get to go to school, and when he asks his parents to enroll him in school, his mother sees it as nothing more than an opportunity to get more handouts. These children live a difficult life. And each scene adds new tragedies.
Meanwhile, by using cast members whose real lives mirror those of their characters, Labaki makes everything feel authentic—to the point that viewers may often forget that they’re not watching a documentary. The cast is truly remarkable. From al Rafeea’s heartbreaking performance as the resourceful and fiercely loyal young hero to Yordanos Shiferaw as the undocumented Ethiopian woman who takes him in, their performances are every bit as moving as their stories.
Still, the plot isn’t the film’s strongest point. It introduces characters who don’t get the development that they deserve, and the conclusions all feel rather forced and simplistic. Admittedly, every detail of the film has been carefully constructed to get the strongest emotional response possible from audiences—but, in that, it’s certainly successful. It’s a captivating drama that’s guaranteed to break your heart.
Capernaum is much like a less-flashy Lebanese Slumdog Millionaire: the unforgettable story of a lovable boy fighting to survive in the worst of conditions. This striking film is definitely worth tackling the subtitles.
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