Film Review: ‘Where Do We Go Now?’
May 31, 2011
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It’s now been over two weeks since Nadine Labaki’s follow up to ‘Caramel’, ‘Where Do We Go Now?’ took Cannes by storm. At the festival it was awarded the Prix Francois Chalais and the Ecumenical Jury Award Special Mention, and received glowing reviews from publications around the world. As a Doha Film Institute supported film, it is our pleasure to share with you some of the positive feedback for this exciting project.
In Labaki’s un-named village, Muslims and Christians live out a tempestuous relationship that is fundamentally loving but prone to hair-trigger outbursts between its aggressively Mediterranean male occupants. The women all get along famously, united in their grief over their lost sons and husbands, victims of a seemingly never-ending war. If only the women could take charge… Its resolutely upbeat and open-hearted approach to conflict resolution could see it win hearts on festival and art-house circuits… and Labaki again proves herself capable of drawing the most natural performances from her actors. – Screen Daily
[Nadine Labaki] is a true filmmaker, not because she directs, acts and participates in the screenwriting, not to mention singing and dancing, but because she represents a world of art that is both simple and deep. She is one of very few Arab female directors who make films that male directors are incapable of. This is because she highlights details that are usually only perceived by women. Not only that, but she makes films with all her senses, emotions and mind, and we can see in them a sweeping love for her characters and country: Beirut in ‘Caramel’ and a faraway village in ‘Where do we go now?’ – Al- Masri al-Youm
It’s a warm, humane film with a serious point – LA Times
As in her first feature film, in ‘Where Do We Go Now?’ Nadine Labaki presents a wonderful group of new women and young talents. She has extended the space and the number of her actors, whom she directed perfectly. The film was further glowing thanks to the women’s great performance. It is a beautiful film that triggers many questions and probably controversies, and it is an assertion on the young and creative Arab cinema’s presence. – Al-Bayan
With sectarian violence continuing to scar the globe, its light tone provides a refreshing response that should give it fuel on the festival circuit… the crisp visuals and extensive use of Khaled Mouzanar’s original music and songs give the film a vibrant energy, as does its warm sense of a community not defined by religion or politics. The title question, “Where do we go now?” arises in the final scene in a way that is both amusing and poignant, underlining the serious wish for peace behind this quirky fantasy. – Reuters