REVIEW: Capharnaum worthy of Oscar nomination with gritty tale of kids doing it tough on the mean streets

REVIEW: Capharnaumis a worthy Oscar Best Foreign Film nominee with a gritty tale of kids doing it tough on the mean streets of Beirut.

Capharnaumis a worthy Oscar Best Foreign Film nominee with a gritty tale of kids doing it tough on the mean streets of Beirut.

CAPHARNAÜM (M)

Rating: Four stars (4 out of 5)

Director: Nadine Labaki (Caramel)

Starring: Zain al Rafeea, Yordanos Shiferaw, Treasure Bankole.

Raised in a place where there’s nowhere to grow

A small boy appears before a court in the Lebanese capital of Beirut. He is already doing time in a juvenile facility.

Though it comes as a surprise to hear he is “probably 12 years old” - no-one really knows for sure - that’s nothing on the shock this rough’n’tumble kid is about to spring. He wants to sue his parents.

“Why?” the judge asks.

“For giving me life,” the boy gruffly retorts.

Zain al Rafeea, the dynamic young star of the Oscar-nominated Capharnaum.

Over the next two hours of the grittily absorbing and often heart-breaking drama Capharnaüm, we learn why little Zain (an astonishingly uninhibited and downright tough portrayal by youngster Zain al Rafeea) is done with his family.

After witnessing what he, his siblings and friends have endured at the hands of parents, guardians and law officials on a daily basis, you won’t be able dispute a single one of Zain’s reasons for wanting out.

Shot on the busy streets of the most poverty-stricken quarter of Beirut, Capharnaüm is filmmaking with a big heart, a caring conscience and a belligerent belief that there is still some hope for the Zains of this world.

Capharnaum or Capernaum for reviews

The film will prove to be a tough commodity for some viewers to sit through, and not just because of the resolutely downbeat nature of the world we are visiting so vividly here.

The storytelling structure of the film - most of it unfolds in flashback - and a rhythm of pacing that tests your reserves of concentration combine inelegantly at times.

A current Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film that doesn’t stand a chance of beating the magnificent Netflix masterpiece Roma, but deserves all recognition coming its way for making the cut in such esteemed company.