Capernaum (Capharnaüm) (2018)
94%RT Audience Score: 93%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
35 wins & 53 nominations total
Capernaum hits hard, but rewards viewers with a smart, compassionate, and ultimately stirring picture of lives in the balance.
Capernaum is a movie that will make you feel all the emotions. From heartbreaking to heartwarming, this film is a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Zain Al Rafeea’s performance is nothing short of amazing, and the naturalism of the performances will leave you in awe. The film’s depiction of the harsh realities of life in Beirut is both topical and hilarious, and the middle section shot on the streets of Beirut is breathtaking. Capernaum is a must-watch for anyone who wants to see a film that is both meaningful and essential.
Production Company(ies)
Mooz Films, Cedrus Invest Bank Sunnyland Film
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Cola, Beirut, Lebanon
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language and some drug material
Year of Release
2018
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:Dolby Digital
-
Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
-
Runtime:2h 10m
-
Language(s):Arabic, Amharic
-
Country of origin:United States, France, Lebanon
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 14, 2018 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 26, 2019
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
Capernaum, R, drama, 2h 10m, Nadine Labaki, Anne-Dominique Toussaint, Jihad Hojeily, Sony Pictures Classics, Arabic, Dolby Digital, Scope (2.35:1), Kawthar Al Haddad, Boluwatife Treasure Bankole, Zain Al Rafeea, Yordanos Shiferaw, Fadi Yousef, reviewed by Nell Minow, Claudia Puig, Andrea Gronvall, Charlotte O’Sullivan, Kate Stables, Simran Hans, Nikki Baughan, Jennifer Merin, Betsy Bozdech, Taylor Baker, Fletcher Powell, Bianca Garner, $1.7M, Fresh Kernels, audience score, critic reviews, Nadine Labaki directed, Anne-Dominique Toussaint produced, Jihad Hojeily and Nadine Labaki wrote, lives in the balance, impoverished children, Beirut, Lebanon, homeless child, parents, crime, trial, neglect, abuse, prison, opiates, undocumented Ethiopian, tragedy, ferocious stance, immigrants, documentary-like filmmaking, nonprofessional performers, Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize, emotional wallop, heartbreaking, gut punch, resourceful figure, forgotten children, essential cinema
Worldwide gross: $64,417,003
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $75,804,239
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,150
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 8,266,547
US/Canada gross: $1,661,096
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,954,734
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,041
US/Canada opening weekend: $24,988
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $29,405
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,372
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $4,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $4,707,095
Production budget ranking: 1,920
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $2,534,771
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $68,562,373
ROI to date (est.): 947%
ROI ranking: 133
Kawthar Al Haddad – Souad, the Mother
Boluwatife Treasure Bankole – Yonas
Zain Al Rafeea – Zain
Yordanos Shiferaw – Rahil
Fadi Yousef – Selim, the Father
Director(s)
Nadine Labaki
Writer(s)
Jihad Hojeily, Nadine Labaki
Producer(s)
Anne-Dominique Toussaint, Nadine Labaki
Film Festivals
Cannes, Venice, Toronto
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
35 wins & 53 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (181) | Top Critics (51) | Fresh (163) | Rotten (18)
Nadine Labiki has created a real-life Dickensian drama with performances of breathtaking naturalism.
October 26, 2021
Nell Minow
AWFJ Women on Film
TOP CRITIC
It’s a very harrowing portrait… Zain Al Rafeea is amazing.
September 12, 2019
Claudia Puig
FilmWeek (KPCC – NPR Los Angeles)
TOP CRITIC
It’s essential viewing for the ways in which it illuminates brutally hard lives many of us could otherwise not imagine, and for the craft of its nonprofessional performers.
March 2, 2019 | Rating: 3/4
Andrea Gronvall
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Jail and courtroom scenes, at the beginning and end, may be a tad implausible, not to mention scrappy. But the middle section, mostly shot on handheld cameras on the streets of Beirut, is breathtaking, topical, hilarious, tender and brutal.
February 28, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Charlotte O’Sullivan
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
Capernaum’s odyssey, in which Zain battles the hazards of shantytowns, souks, prisons and betrayals with wily, angry energy, paints him as a resourceful figure fighting impossible odds rather than the passive child victim of charity adverts.
February 27, 2019
Kate Stables
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
Rafeea, a non-professional actor and Syrian refugee, is the film’s secret weapon. At times, the tragedy unfolding on screen feels borderline unwatchable, but his strange, fascinating, eerily adult face offers a litany of minute expressions.
February 24, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Simran Hans
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Desperately moving and, at times, difficult to watch, Nadine Labaki’s Capernaum is resolutely unflinching in its depiction of Lebanon’s forgotten children..,.
October 26, 2021
Nikki Baughan
AWFJ Women on Film
It’s one of the year’s best and most meaningful films. It is essential cinema.
October 26, 2021
Jennifer Merin
AWFJ Women on Film
Labaki’s documentary-like filmmaking reinforces Capernaum’s realism, and the result is a painfully raw drama that will stay with you long after the credits roll.
October 26, 2021
Betsy Bozdech
AWFJ Women on Film
Episode 30: Capernaum / The Red Riding Trilogy / High Flying Bird
September 9, 2021 | Rating: 50/100
Taylor Baker
Drink in the Movies
Capernaum is saturated with … urgent and angry energy.
February 9, 2021
Fletcher Powell
KMUW – Wichita Public Radio
It’s hard not to be impressed by Zain al-Rafeea’s incredible performance and it’s a great film to put on if you need a good cry.
February 3, 2021
Bianca Garner
In Their Own League…
Plot
Capernaüm (“Chaos”) tells the story of Zain (Zain al-Rafeea), a Lebanese boy who sues his parents for the “crime” of giving him life. The film follows Zain as he journeys from gutsy, streetwise child to hardened 12-year-old “adult” fleeing his negligent parents, surviving through his wits on the streets, where he meets Ethiopian migrant worker Rahil, who provides him with shelter and food, as Zain takes care of her baby son Yonas in return. Zain later gets jailed for committing a violent crime, and finally seeks justice in a courtroom.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Zain Al Rafeea’s performance in Capernaum is described as “amazing” and “a terrific revelation” by audience members.
Nadine-Labaki.jpg
