This weekend the Lebanese film Capernaum (Capharnaum) receives its release in cities
across the United States. It’s already been
in Lebanese cinemas and on the festival circuit for a number of months and has
collected a growing tally of accolades (including a Golden Globe nomination for
best foreign picture). Director Nadine
Labaki is firmly established as a leader in Middle Eastern film and I believe that
she has crafted something very important in Capernaum. To my international friends, I do hope the
film is showing somewhere near you. Capernaum does not aim to entertain but rather
open your eyes (and hopefully your heart) to the painful realities facing human
lives in our world today. In the following I briefly present some of the reasons
why I urge you to take the time and effort to see this film.
Lebanon has been my home for over a decade and it is where
my family and I have every intention to spend our future. It’s a small country- about 2/3 the size of
Connecticut- of fascinating complexities, a collection of many lebanons within
a single Lebanon. The myriad of social,
religious and historical dynamics at play here make it a confounding and yet
extremely alluring corner of the world. Capernaum
is a story about Lebanon. It does not
tell the whole story- in fact it features none of the things that are
considered so iconic Lebanese- but it certainly presents a very raw portrayal
of the lived experience of countless within Lebanese.
Capernaum is unique
for me in that my own experiences are very much removed from those portrayed and
yet it does hit close to home on different levels. My work with at-risk children and poverty
alleviation has brought me into engagement with a number of the issues, places
and case types presented in the film (and from my experience I can say with
confidence that it does not take artistic license but rather provides and
accurate depiction of what is happening in Lebanon). It was painful to watch the story on the big screen
knowing full well that this is not a fictitious tale; the film ends and the
credits role but I know the unsettling content continues to be the real story for
people across Lebanon. Capernaum shows us a part of Lebanon
that is not often presented but certainly always exists. If you are wondering
why Kids Alive
Lebanon exists, the film stands as a compelling argument.
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It
depicts the nightmare of statelessness
My passion
for statelessness is constantly stirred by the magnitude of its assault on the
lives of its victims. I’ve become well
acquainted with the problem via research, writing and personal outreach, and I am
continually perplexed by the depth and dimensions of the issue. Capernaum
portrays the sheer gravity of statelessness in a compelling way as primary
characters face life in the absence of official documentation and
identity. The stateless are effectively invisible
in a legal sense and suffer a lack of protections, rights and human dignity. Statelessness is a trap and we see in Capernaum how much it undermines any
chance for a healthy life. In fact the very last image of the film is a
touching statement that so much of life and hope is indeed tied to the possession
of a legal identity. If the film
unsettles us (and it certainly should) then the fact that millions of people
are stateless and denied legal belonging in this world should unsettles us even
more. Capernaum shows us the predicament in a powerful way.
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It has
outstanding performances
I highly doubt the Academy Awards will give Oscars for Best
Actor and Best Supporting Actor to children, but there’s certainly a case for
it here. The performances by the two
primary actors (one a Syrian refugee minor and the other a migrant toddler)
will haunt you as you watch innocent humanity struggle against the cruel
injustice of our world. For a father of
young children there were times in the film when the hopelessness and misery
endured by children was too much to take in.
These are performance that will haunt you.
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It
effectively considers the many intersecting issues of poverty in Lebanon
Within its 2 hour runtime Capernaum manages to provide a wide-ranging introduction to many of
the social, legal and humanitarian issues that intersect against Lebanon’s poor
and vulnerable. Some of those featured include
child exploitation, displacement, human trafficking, migrant rights, drug
trade, gaps in the legal and penal systems, and access to education and healthcare.
In the weeks since viewing the film my
personal reflections have identified more and more social currents that run
through the film. It truly is a nuanced examination of poverty in Lebanon, and
the many layers of the issues are presented in a masterful way.
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It will
stir a discussion.
I want to be clear about something: Capernaum is not a perfect film.
There are aspects of the film and its message that must be scrutinized,
such as a point made explicitly and inexplicitly that the suffering of children
in extreme poverty is primarily the fault of parents who insist on having
children when they should not. Even so,
none of its faults should cause us to dismiss this film. There is a wealth of material to facilitate important
discussions about society, justice, poverty, human rights and the compassion for
the marginalized and suffering.
For over a decade I have been privileged to serve at-risk
children in Lebanon. It has been a most
meaningful experience but there are still many times when I ask myself, “why am
I doing this?” The question arises from the many challenges we face here in
Lebanon as well as my own personal inclination to simply submit things within and
around me to thorough rounds of questioning.
A complete answer will never be attainable, but there are many answers
that prove sufficient. Capernaum is one such answer. It shows us the problems that exist around us
and the people that suffer in silence (this is true whether you live in Lebanon
or anywhere else), and we are left with the opportunity to be part of the solutions.
I so often fall back on the realization that I do what I do because I have the
opportunity to do so, and I see God and his kingdom in these
opportunities. I hope you have the
opportunity to see Capernaum.
