Caramel is a bittersweet treat. full review

Labaki elicits expressive performances from a cast of amateurs, aided by Khalad Mouzanar's entrancing score and Yves Sehnaoui's lush cinematography. full review

Perceptive and poignant, Caramel observes the love lives of the establishment's owner, her employees and their customers. full review

There's a pleasant, easygoing charm to Caramel, largely stemming from Labaki's rare determination to depict Beirut as something other than a war-torn, slowly recovering battleground. full review

Its chief focus is the bonding between women who rely on each for support, and who really appreciate a place where they can let down their hair. full review

Filmgoers expecting My Big Fat Lebanese Waxing are in for a bigger treat: Nadine Labaki, who wrote and directed the film, possesses an astute instinct for restraint that makes Caramel smarter ans more poignantthan the average chick flick. full review

[Writer-Director] Labaki writes and directs with a sure hand for capturing universal truths. full review

As sugary as it may be, Caramel has a likeable edge to it, both in the natural performances of the mostly non-professional cast and the script's sardonic bluntness about social hypocrisies and the women's self-deception. full review

One of those small films that give a glimpse into a culture that's both foreign and familiar. It's filled with real-life touches and small insights and wonderfully human characters, and the whole thing feels as real as crossing the street. full review

In a culture where female sexuality is problematic at best, how is a woman supposed to feed both body and heart? Through makeovers, support, and necessary lies, Caramel curtly answers. full review

In the Beirut beauty salon where most of Caramel takes place, women of various shapes, sizes, ages and backgrounds gather to bond and gossip. full review

Don't expect an elegant, fully realized production. Do expect, though, to be touched and surprised by a string of intimate, urgent vignettes. full review

A sweeter and more believable version of Steel Magnolias, Middle Eastern style. full review

Just another good-looking, gently humorous, pleasantly romanticized little comedy, which ends with everyone a little wiser than they began. full review

Well-made and modestly enjoyable seriocomedy. full review

As tart, and tantalizing, as that little pot of caramel already bubbling on the stove, just waiting to bring delight -- or quick stabbing pain. full review

It is sweet but not saccharine, an intimate film that doesn't stint on the desperation and anxiety that go along with the search for love. full review

Uneven, fluctuating between poignancy...and fluff. full review

Set in a culture caught between East and West, between male chauvinism and female empowerment, Labaki's movie isn't about to revolutionize a genre -- its charms are modest, but many. full review

It's refreshing for a romantic comedy not to follow the formula by rote. I only wish I could be as enthusiastic about the amount of screen time accorded to certain characters who are more tedious than endearing. full review