Capernaum: Italian Neorealism, Hollywood Storytelling, Camera Work, Character Study

The following analysis was submitted for an informal film journal assignment Junior year.

Italian Neorealism

Capernaum might be likened to an Italian Neorealist film. First, Italian Neorealist filmmakers often employed nonprofessional actors. Zain, although he executed his role well, was not a professional actor. The use of nonprofessional actors bolsters the Italian Neorealism goal of conveying the ordinary. To show spectators how the world really is and celebrate the nobility of the everyday human, Italian Neorealist filmmakers often hired nonprofessional actors to achieve a greater level of authenticity. The children were essentially told to be themselves, mimicking a documentary-like means of “acting”. Furthermore, Italian Neorealist films tended to be compassionate and humanist towards the downtrodden. Portraying poverty in film is a difficult feat, for there is a fine line between the glorification of subjects and the oppressive characterization of such subjects as miserable or less fortunate. In my opinion, Capernaum did not necessarily exploit the characters, but rather evoked sympathy, while effectively straying from evoking pity. Zain has a level of wit and wisdom, demonstrated as early as when he realizes his sister is menstruating and will soon be sold to a potential suitor. Furthermore, the narrative may be conventional in a sense, but it does not have a tight structure. It is loosely plotted and episodic, like an Italian Neorealist film. The plot is interrupted by flashback devices, which are often framed by courtroom scenes. Italian Neorealist films also tend to include characters’ decisions that might be agonizing at the time, but the spectator understands that the character’s ultimate decision is compelled by their impoverished situation. Even Zain’s decision to sue his parents for bringing him into the world mimics this feature of Italian Neorealism, for we come to see that this otherwise bold decision is righteous when framed by his upbringing in poverty and his parents’ neglect to even register him as a human. In other words, we understand the cause of Zain’s actions to be economic and political in nature, whereas the effects are not necessarily conclusive. Italian Neorealist films aim not to be judgemental or to romanticize poverty, but rather tell it as it is. Capernaum, like an Italian Neorealist film, appeals to a humanist, emotional perspective that challenges our ordinary sense of moralism. Finally, Italian Neorealist films are often shot on location rather than in a large studio, which helps avoid the need for the traditional, Hollywood three point lighting systems and serves the ‘slice-of-life’ means of storytelling. Capernaum subscribes to the reliance on actual locales pivotal to Italian Neorealist films, following Zain’s journey through real-world locations like amusement parks, the slums of Lebanon (more specifically, the streets of Beirut), makeshift dwellings, and courtrooms.

Hollywood Storytelling

Classical Hollywood films generally involve a) individual characters making things happen and b) characters who desire something. Zain’s life is predominantly self-driven, which would make the film appear to align with classical Hollywood storytelling. Although his choice to leave the house is motivated by familial and economic strife, he ultimately leaves on his own volition. Furthermore, he singlehandedly calls out Asprio in the end, causing authorities to raid the house and reunite Yonas and Rahil.  In terms of his desires, his principal goal is convoluted, but–above anything–he wishes to prevent future suffering by ensuring that his family does not have any other children. It is more of a self-determined, inverted goal, for he doea not necessarily want something to happen, but more so wants something not to happen. He does not want anyone else to be born into the suffering world that he had to endure. Furthermore, the film uses continuity editing, harnessing matches on action to carry motion across shots. Even in the final scene where Zain is taking a photo for his ID, there are cuts, as the photographer tells him to move around. Yet, motion is continuous between cuts, indicating that Zain is in the same spot against the wall. There is also relatively tight-causality in the film. That is, problems within the plot–such as his parents trying to sell Sahar–are met with responses, such as Zain leaving the family home. Yet, the causes are also political and economic in nature. Furthermore, one would expect a film with a sad beginning to have some sort of turning point or moment of happiness where the film resolves the sadness, but I do not think Capernaum has any sort of moment, which might be another point of departure from classical Hollywood storytelling. While Zain meets people, like Rahil, that help him, the helpers end up causing more harm than good. Capernaum’s circular storytelling, while perhaps not a tight three act structure, efficiently wraps up in the end. That is, the film started with a courtroom scene, transitioned into flashbacks, and ultimately ended back in the courtroom to properly frame the beginning of the story. Finally, the film identified with the protagonist. While I personally felt like a fly-on-the-wall watching Zain’s story unfold, I resonated with Zain throughout the film. It seems we ought to resonate with Zain since the film begins with him, the narrative justifies his choice to sue his parents, and the camera tracks him performing errands from the get go. As spectators, we are emotionally invested in his journey.

Camerawork

Aside from the opening scenes, some of the courtroom scenes, and drone shots, the shots in the film appear to be filmed with a handheld or portable camera. Holding a camera while tracking motion often leads to unsteady, or unstable shots. The unstable camera work contributed to the film’s authenticity and made it appear almost like a documentary. The camera tracks Zain’s running movements through the streets and follows his facial expressions when met with hardship. When Zain moves, the camera follows. It seems as though this form serves the content in terms of practicality, to some extent. Actors are usually subjected to the cinematographer’s camera movements, but Zain is not a trained actor. Instead, the cinematographers were likely subject to Zain’s movements, tracking his motion rather than telling him where to go or how to move. This adds a level of realism and contributes to the film’s documentary-like appearance. Furthermore, there is a mixture of high angle and low angle shots of Zain, which I argue blur the line between his actual age and the cloak of maturity he took on throughout the film. For instance, many of the shots where Zain is holding Yonas are filmed from a high-angle, looking down at him from an adult’s perspective and underscoring the fact that he too young to carry the responsibility of a child. Yet, there are also shots of Zain filmed from a low-angle or at eye-level, such as when he goes to buy juice alone. The mixture of high-angle and low-angle shows underscores his roles as both an adult and a child. Zain is simultaneously a small, innocent child and a mature, responsible adult capable of making difficult decisions. Furthermore, the film harnessed several moments of open-shot framing, which allowed movement to flow inside and outside the wide-angle lens’ bounds. By allowing people to move inside and outside of the shots, the story extends beyond the bounds of the lens, capturing the story of Zain as it plays out within a greater setting and context. Also, the lighting in the scenes was predominantly from natural sources, which likely means the camera crew had to select days where the outside light was sufficient to illuminate the shot. This would allow the camera crew to move freely in real-life settings and outdoors, situating Zain in a natural environment, rather than a studio or set. The political and economic context shapes the diegesis in this film, so it is important that the form captures Zain’s orientation within his greater community. 

Zain’s Character Development

Zain is approximately 12 years old, although neither his parents nor the Lebanese government knows his precise age because his parents failed to report his existence. He appears physically youthful because he has large eyes and is relatively skinny. Yet, emotionally, he seems wise beyond 12 years of age, for his intelligence and wit surpass that of the average child his age. For instance, he constantly swears and, at one point, sighs and says “Fuck this country,” which seems to require a relatively complex understanding of the country’s role in his own plight. I do not know many 12 year olds who realize the degree to which politics exacerbates their childhood struggles. The first instance where we see Zain is when he is in jail for a stabbing and he then proceeds to the courtroom where we find out he is suing his parents for giving birth to him and subsequently neglecting him. I found the flashback structure a source of comfort throughout the film. For, while we know he is presently battling a court case, the court case at least proves that the trials and tribulations of escaping Beirut will not result in his death. Zain is constantly in motion. He performs tasks for workers at local shops and even tends to some of his parents’ criminal conquests. His parents make money by smuggling opioid drugs to his older brother in prison and ultimately attempt to make money by trading Sahar to their landlord as a child bride. Aside from his ensnarement in poverty, this trade is the impetus for Zain’s escape. Personally, I took the title to be a biblical reference and thus saw Zain as a sort of Jesus-type of martyr. Jesus taught in the synagogues of Capernaum, performed some of his most notable miracles there, and ultimately chose to live there once he was driven out of Nazareth by religious officials. However, I did not see him as the tender, kindhearted sort of martyr that Jesus supposedly was. The downtrodden city Zain lives in might mimic Capernaum in its blurring lines of misery and hope, but the aspect of hope seems to be only found within Zain. Zain is outspoken, indignant, angry, and oftentimes violent, especially towards his parents and their criminal behavior. The film makes his violence immediately known by acknowledging that he is in jail for a stabbing. When Zain learns he must look over Rahil’s baby son, Yonas, his anger intensifies. He becomes the sole person responsible for looking after Yonas, which perhaps made him understand his ensnarement in neverending poverty. It felt as though the film never really resolved Zain’s anger, but rather develops it throughout the film to justify his ultimate goal of suing his parents for being born. I also found it hard to analyze Zain’s development because of the intermittent cuts back to the courtroom and scenes like the Cockroach Man, which appeared to bring structure and a degree of comedic relief to the plot while also stunting Zain’s emotional development during scenes of hardship. Although the raiding of Asprio’s house and the reunification of Yonas and Rahil perhaps satisfies Zain in the end, he still maintains that he wants his parents to stop having children so that children will not have to suffer like he did. The film ends with one of the first genuine smiles we see from Zain, perhaps signaling hope for his own life. Although he finds some semblance of comfort by helping those around him, his resentment towards his parents and the world around him does not necessarily change. He is forced to cultivate his own level of humanity as he learns that relying on others’ humanity is not necessarily possible, given the conditions everyone around him is subjected to. 

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