Capharnaüm--or Capernaum as it is also known--is a Lebanese drama that has won the Jury Prize at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival receiving a 15-minute standing ovation after its premiere. That is but one of the 22 awards that the film has won so far. A film shot with novices over 6 months the first cut was 12 hours long and was eventually edited down to just over 2 hours. These aspects alone make the film pretty damn impressive, and we haven't even looked at the content.
A story that was in the news recently, and potentially inspired by this film, is an Indian man suing his parents for having him. Being born without consent. It's a controversial topic, considering there is no way to ask for consent, but that is the topic that this film attempts to discuss. Well, not so much gaining consent, but the idea of placing responsibility on the parents, when they choose to have children that they cannot financially support.
Almost antinatalist in its perspective, Capharnaüm brings into question the cultural beliefs that a couple are inferior if they have no children; that the more children they have the more blessed they are, no matter what the living conditions are for the children. High birth rates are not only a consequence of a lack of access to family planning and contraception but a cultural norm that has been a way of life for many generations.
In this film, we watch events unfold from the perspective of Zain, a 12-year-old Lebanese boy who is wanting to sue his parents for continually having children despite their absolute poverty. The film frequently flashes back to earlier in the timeline filling in the story to explain how Zain ended up where he did. This non-linear narrative both works and fails, as the flashback goes off on a completely unrelated tangent to the court case, but the switching of timelines does keep the interest during the slower moments in the film--which is very much noticeable when the film stays in one time for an extended period)--where the pacing otherwise suffers.
The film is an eyeopener in terms of the lives of those in poverty. It is frustrating to see people struggling, to see them put into difficult situations that have no easy answer. To see them being taken advantage of. And be powerless to do anything about it. That frustration is present throughout many parts of the film, and it creates a strong emotional connection with the protagonists of the film. That strong connection will have many viewers in tears.
The acting is not the strongest and is quite over-the-top at times, but it builds their characters further. Making it feel genuine; more documentary, less Hollywood. The pacing is inconsistent, the flashbacks go thoroughly off-topic in regards to the initial plot device, yet the power of the content is undeniable. It is definitely more on the arty side of the spectrum, and the English subtitles would turn a few away from watching this. But I love that the film has the guts to challenge societal norms, and for that I'd recommend checking it out.