Capernaum        4 ½ stars

Capernaum is a very intense depiction of life in a poverty stricken city in the Middle East by Lebanese director, Nadine Labaki.  The film was awarded the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.  It tells the story of a young boy of about ten or eleven, Zain, who leaves his negligent parents and lives on the streets to be eventually taken in by illegal Ethiopian immigrant Rahil, where he helps her take care of her baby.  The story is tragic and hard to watch at times as you see this young boy struggle to survive and see how this shapes his attitude toward the world.  The movie has a non-linear structure as it starts showing us a civil trial where Zain is suing his parents for the crime of allowing him to be born into such a terrible place.  It then shows us the background of the immense struggle the characters have to face each day.  The director used all non-professionals as actors in making the movie and allowed the actors to improvise some of the scenes.  The result is a compelling story and one that is hard to watch at many points.  I recommend it for those that can take in such a tragic but real story.