I’m wracking my brian to think of the last film I saw that was set in Beirut. Not sure if I ever have to be honest. If this film is anything to go by, I’ll be looking out for them – and not just because the women are so beautiful.

Caramel is described on imdb.com as “a romantic comedy centered on the daily lives of five Lebanese women living in Beirut” but that makes it sound much fluffier than it is.

It’s a film about liberation as much as it is about love and friendship. The name, caramel, comes from the fact that hair removal wax is unavailable Beirut for religious reasons, so women use caramel in its place. They strive to overcome the social mores which suffocate them.

In reality is the story of Layale (right), a 20-something woman living in Beirut and working in a beauty salon. She is having a relationship with a man who is married and is at sixes and seven about what to do. Why won’t he leave his wife? What does she have that Layale doesn’t? And why does that really nice local police officer keep making eyes at her?

Layale works with her two best friends – Nisrine and Rima. And they have their own problems. Nisrine is engaged to man she loves dearly but whose family is much more tradional than she is. Her future husband is as modern as she, but will that hold through if he finds out her secret?

We’re not explicitly told but Rima is gay. She’s a tomboy who loves her friends dearly but has no time for romance. Until a woman arrives at the salon ro have her hair washed. The scenes of Rima washing her hair are wonderfully sensual and become quite sexy when there’s a haricut involved.

Then there is Jamale, an aging actress who had been left by her husband and is trying to get work to pay her way. The world has left her behind, with no thanks for raising her children. She feels expendable and will do anything – and I mean anything – to make it seem she is younger than she is, even to the point of embarrassment.

Across the street from the salon live Rose and Lili. And here is the film’s heart. Lili is elderly and suffers from dementia. Her senility is part of the comedy of the piece, although never exploititively. The realtionship between them is warm, human and difficult. Rose works her fingers to the bone to keep a roof above their heads but, of course, Lili has no idea. When love comes to the front door, Rose is left with a decision to make – grasp her chance or care for Lili?

All in all, Caramel isn’t going to win any Oscars. But it is warm, funny and will have you talking afterwards for hours.

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