A Child with an Unbending Will – Movie review : Capernaum

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While Capernaum is a city known for the times of Jesus’ preaching in the synagogue, it also refers to a place of great chaos. The name is chosen for the film to depict the chaotic situation in which Zain, a Lebanese boy, is brought up. Indeed the movie begins with a grand aerial bird's eye shot of the slums of Beirut, preparing the audience for the plight of the boy born in extreme destitution. 

The Chinese name “星仔打官司”, on the other hand, is more representative of the main theme of the story, featuring a lawsuit Zain is filing against his parents. The court scene is interrupted by occasional flashbacks showing Zain’s struggles through life. The director is very careful with details about the treatment Zain receives in and outside the home, thus justifying his hatred for his parents, whom he considers guilty of giving birth to him.

It may be controversial whether a twelve-year-old child can sue his parents. In fact, according to the filmmaker, the film is intended to go beyond the borders of being a film; it is a cry for help. And the court case serves just the right purpose. The accusation is actually directed against the Lebanese government for its inability to address social ills such as abject poverty, child abuse, child brides and forced marriages, child trafficking and the undocumented population. The film is an appeal to the world for better understanding of the appalling situation so that more can be done to deal with the children deprived of fundamental rights. 

What impresses the audience most of all is the description of Zain’s strong and aggressive personality. There are frequent close-ups of the blank look on his smileless face. Yet,  by no means does he submit to fate. Hardly is there any tear in his eyes even when he is trampled on and spat at. The audience, who first take delight in the way he survives through his wits, have their emotions more intensely engaged when Zain’s anger gradually boils deep inside him until he finally resorts to violence to avenge his sister’s death. 

Despite its melancholic tone, the film is not short of amusing interludes. There are a few laugh lines including the conversation between the immigration officer and the eccentric old man whom Zain has met on the bus. It is fun, too, watching the tenderness with which Zain babysits the child of an Ethiopian refugee.

Credited with an arresting story and the superb performance of the actors, the movie is well worth the fame of being the Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and is undoubtedly one of the best on my must-see list.