The magical beauty salon of Nadine Labaki’s Caramel has been replaced in her second feature by a war-torn Middle East village, where Muslim-Christian tension grows ever more volatile.
The local women, led by the beautiful widow Amale (Labaki), hire Ukrainian strippers to turn their menfolk away from the path of violent retribution.
Balancing sectarian tragedy and earthy humour is never easy, and Labaki crams in too many stereotypes.
A romantic song-and-dance sequence suggests she should perhaps have turned her well-intentioned fable into a full-blown musical.
