Capernaum is a Lebanese movie which takes us through the journey of Zain, a kid of around 12
years. Zain holds many responsibilities for a kid of his age. He runs errands, understands the way the
world works and knows that people do have bad intentions. He is very fond of his sister, Sahar. The
very shot with which the film begins establishes the present condition of Lebanon and the misery
the people are facing. The shot shows kids playing "Gangster" with discarded guns. The story starts
with a courtroom trial where Zain wants to convict his parents for negligence and asks them to stop
having children if they can't take care of them. Zain contacts the media while he is serving a five year
sentence for stabbing a man. He had his reasons. The movie really talks about the living conditions
of poor people in slums of Beirut which also represent the condition and ever-increasing population
of other slums of the world. While Zain was living somehow, the most significant person in his life
was taken away from him just like that: Sahar was married to their landlord Assad who was way
older than her. Zain didn't have proper documentation to support his existence. He was living a life
of misery when he wanted to be a good and respectable man. The story touches upon sensitive
issues of trust and care between siblings. Although Yonas is not Zain's original brother, he takes care
of him as one. The end is what I love the most about the movie where Zain's face is just plain sad
and the photographer says to him "Smile, Zain. This is your passport photo. Not a death certificate."
The film closes with Zain's smile. The intricacies that the movie has captured are very minute and
detailed. Zain is the only one who works as he is the only boy in the house. But he is also deprived of
education because of his tedious jobs. He has a better understanding of life and the world around
him than his elder sister because she has not seen so much of the world as he has. His connection
with Yonas and a general dilemma of leaving him for his dream of going away is a lot to process for a
mere 12-year old boy, and he makes a decision although his heart doesn't support it. Zain's plea is a
rather unusual one. He wants his parents to have no more kids and by that he raises a question for
any parents that cannot take care of their young ones, which ultimately talks about family planning.
His plea expresses his pain and suffering. He calls his mother 'heartless' for having another baby. For
Zain, this is unacceptable. Zain, as a character, speaks to us and represents life for those who are not
privileged like us. His pain can be felt through the camera straight to our hearts. His various attempts
to live a proper life have not worked out and though he has parents, he feels like an orphan with too
many responsibilities. Capernaum is a gem of a movie.
Although the film is set in Beirut, the title is named after the ancient fishing town of Israel: Capernaum, which depicts chaos or disorder. Ironically, Capernaum is also cited as the village of comfort in the Bible. Maybe, the director wanted to say that we have to find our comfort and order from the same chaos we live in; it's just about taking the step, risking everything and daring to be different. The movie takes us directly to where a common man avoids going and what he avoids feeling: poverty and misery. The movie talks about how people still see women as a commodity. This is explained very well through a scene where Zain realizes his elder sister is menstruating and tries his best to hide it because he knows his parents will marry her to someone and send her away. It also talks about what poverty makes people do as the family is seen washing their clothes in prescription opioids in order to give them to Zain's brother in jail who will have money in exchange for the drugs. While Zain always looked at school-vans passing by and wished to be one of those kids who get to go to school, he instead learns this and has to ultimately sell the drug water at one point by whatever little prescription pieces he has. The movie might be about immigration, but it talks about many other issues hidden in its intricate layers such as the state of Lebanon, the need for family planning, the childhood that is very often killed at a very young age, education, the love between siblings, humanity and attachments, and the things one has to do in order to just survive. The music and tone of the movie produce an extra layer of intensity. I especially love the soundtrack by Khaled Mouzanar. Cinephile or not, here is a film you need to watch if you often wonder if the world could be a better place. The film ends with a hopeful message and hope is what we need the most in these trying times. It is about the world as it is and how we can work together to improve it.∎
