The other day I saw I was scrolling through my timeline on X when I saw a tweet recommending this movie - Capernaum. They said if you want to cry go watch Capernaum on Netflix. I didn’t want to cry but I love me a good emotional story so I went for it.
Capernaum is clear depiction of a perpetual subjection to abject poverty. You know when someone is so poor there is no way out; it is their lifestyle and there’s little they can do about it but survive. Lebanon is shown in a heartbreaking light, as a young boy is forced to bear the brunt of the tragedy that is his existence. It captures the harsh realities of the poor people, especially children in the Middle East.
Zain Al Rafeea
Zain was birthed to a world of misery but that not stop him from being full of love. He extended this love to his family especially his sister. His heart was broken when he learned his sister passed away as a result of teen pregnancy. She had been married off by her parents to avoid getting kicked out of their shabby home.
Zain, determined to experience a life other than what he’s used to, leaves him to a different town where she met a kind woman, who in fact was in no condition to be hospitable but she takes him in anyway. Zain soon learns, that when life decides to deal you a cruel hand, it would stop at nothing; even if it means leaving a 12 year old to cater to a toddler. There didn’t seem to be a soft path for Zain.
The Lawsuit: Zain Vs His Parents.
Zain would later sue his parents, for bringing him into this world to be raised in poverty, to watch other kids go to school daily while he worked a job to help his family, to watch his sister taken away from him, to experience the ill treatment of the undocumented, to be sentenced to Five years in prison at the age of twelve.
Zain did not fancy his life. He certainly didn’t approve of his parent’s decision of bringing more children into their world giving their condition. When asked by the judge in court what he wanted from his parents, he said he wanted them to stop any further plans of procreation. Mind you, his mother was already pregnant with another child.
It is difficult not to judge his parents in this situation, but you must keep an open mind for everyone has a story to them. His parents had a brief opportunity to let us in, and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for them too. They were born into the same life, raised in the same manner and grew up to extend the same hand to their kids. Who are you to judge them when you haven’t walked a step in their shoes?
I would encourage you to watch Capernaum. It is enlightening to say the least. And, there’s a beautiful smile waiting for you at the end of it. It will break your heart in a million pieces but it is worth it. I promise.
If you have a short attention span or you require a movie to be highly stimulating in order to capture your attention then you may not like this one very much. It is one of those movies where it looks like there is not much going on but a lot is actually happening in the mundane nothingness.
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Image photograph was taken by me.
