Caramel

This rare Lebanese feature to make it to the West may look like a typical Hollywood romantic comedy, but there is all the difference in the world. For, as co-written and directed by its beautiful star, Nadine Labaki, “Caramel” is sweet but never saccharine, an intimate film that doesn’t stint on the desperation and anxiety that go with the search for love. A highlight of the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes, “Caramel” investigates the romantic lives of five women connected to a Beirut beauty salon who form a surrogate family. All these characters can count on, finally, is that they will be there for each other.