Caramel

An amiable comedy, set in Beirut although you wouldn't know it. There are no signs of warfare or civil turmoil, just a slightly rundown beauty parlour with an erratic electricity supply. Nor do the women particularly conform to the stereotype fixed in Western minds. Their problems are more universal: an affair with a married man, an ageing actress, how to convince a future husband that you're a virgin when you're not. It all meanders pleasantly enough but never actually excites. The most interesting character is Rima, who clearly prefers women but whose only opportunity for physical feminine contact is when she's washing clients' hair. If any of her colleagues are aware of her secret, none of them ever show it.