WHERE DO WE GO NOW?

Where Do We Go Now? is the much anticipated follow up to writer/director, Nadine Labaki's Caramel.

Much like Caramel before it, Where Do We Go Now? is about a group of diverse Lebanese women, bonding together as only women can - through laughter, love, food and music. The setting is an isolated Middle Eastern village with a healthy mix of Muslims and Catholics. Unlike surrounding areas the village get on well together, despite their religious differences.

But as the unseen battle outside of their village takes its toll, religion begins to get in the way of their harmonious village. Small misunderstandings have the men beginning to fight with each other. The women, desperate to continue peacefully, begin to look for ways to keep their village safe, happy and without further loss. Watching these wonderful women work together towards peace is hilarious and heart breaking. One of the more amusing ideas they have is to hire a Russian belly dancing group to stay in the village, entertain, and hopefully stop the men thinking about fighting. But as the stakes get high, the women need to extend their ideas far beyond their already vivid imaginations.

Visually this is a beautiful film that will grab you from the very first scene. After a montage of dusty images of the isolated village, a large group of women, all dressed in black, shuffle in a dance-like formation across the desert to the graves of their fallen sons and husbands. Hypnotising, exquisite, and unique, you know you are about to see a remarkable film. The beauty and colour of the characters against the desolate backdrop of The Middle East adds to the visual feast of this film.

There is also wonderful, uplifting music, and includes a few well placed musical scenes for the characters to sing and move to. The acting is superb, with an established cast of Lebanese actors and a great supporting cast of locals and amateurs. As always, Nadine Labaki plays the female lead, Amal, a strong, independent woman, who has lost her husband, but is starting to warm to the idea of love again.

 

There is something for everyone in this film - it is warm and loving, filled with plenty of humour and drama. It is real, you feel along with the characters, through their twists and turns. The backdrop - devastating as it may be - is a great anchor for their custom and beliefs. But mostly, it is the women and their joy against this backdrop, the joy for their village, family, friends and each other. You can see why this has been a film festival favourite, winning audience awards in the Olso, San Sebastian and Toronto FIlm Festivals since premiering as part of Un Certain Regard at Cannes last year.

 

Where Do We Go Now? will make you laugh out loud and bring a tear to your eye, it is a must see foriegn film showing now at the Tower Cinemas in Newcastle.