by Joyce Marcel"Caramel" by Nadine Labaki is a Lebanese drama about three stunning women who work at a beauty parlor. It also tells the story of their friend, a seamstress who lives across the street with her demented elderly sister. And a mysterious young woman whose long, long black hair serves as a bridge to her relationship with one of the hairdressers. And family members. And a very lovely and handsome policeman who is in love with one of the hairdressers.
In other words, Labaki has filled her film with fascinating - and very good to look at - characters.
The caramel in the title refers to the way the women depilate - by making a taffy out of heated sugar and water, manipulating it with their fingers until it is pliable, putting it on the leg and then ripping it off.
Ouch.
On the other hand, the film made me - who hasn't worn makeup in over 20 years - to run out and buy turquoise shadow and kohl.
Labaki is a gifted filmmaker with a strong sense of the visual - each scene is filled with detail and beautifully framed. She's also an original - there is one breathtaking scene where the most headstrong hairdresser stands in the window and talks to her married lover on the phone, while across the street, her policeman watches from a cafe and carries on his own side of the conversation.
Another of the hairdressers is getting married. Her problem: she is not a virgin. But in Lebanon, they have surgery to re-sew the hymen and fool the husband on the wedding night.
And before we raise our eyebrows and thank God that we live in a country where virginity is not the be all and end all of a woman's life, let's remember that we now have plastic surgery to make your vagina look like the vagina of a 16-year-old. And women line up for it.
We haven't come any distance at all, baby.
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Saturday turned out to be the last day of the festival for me. Sunday was Easter and I had family to hang out with. So I missed the estimable Carolyn Partridge's comments after "Iron Ladies of Liberia," but I'm fairly certain that she encouraged more women to get into politics.
Now the festival committees are meeting to pick "Best of Fest," tally up the numbers and the contributions, and read the cards. I'll post them here when they're done.
In the meantime, here's my summary (I saw 20 out of the 30 films):
Best Picture: "Time to Die" (with "Caramel" and "Live-In Maid" right behind it.)
Most Boring Picture: "Women Behind the Camera," followed by "Let's Face It: Women Explore Their Aging Faces."
Best Documentary: "A Walk to Beautiful." Just because.
Most Inspiring: "Iron Ladies of Liberia." I love Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Most Enchanting: Kris Carr and her "Crazy Sexy Cancer."
Most Missing: Sex! Sex! Sex! Come on, throw us a break.
Best Thing About the Festival - After the Movies: Meeting new people and having unexpected conversations with people you already know.
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I want to thank the Women's Film Festival for giving me the opportunity to see the films and blog about them. It's been an amazing week. And special thanks to the Brattleboro Reformer for hosting the blog, and to Jacqueline Gens for serving as Web Master for womensfilmfestival.blogspot.com.
So one last post at the end of the week, and then I'll be done. Thanks for reading.
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