Captain Abu Raed (2007)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Amin Matalqa

Writer:

Amin Matalqa (writer)

Release Date:

6 February 2008 (Jordan)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

An unlikely airport janitor makes a difference in the life of a boy in his poor neighborhood.

Plot:

An aging airport janitor who is mistaken for an airline pilot by a group of poor neighborhood children weaves fantastical stories to offer hope for a sad, and sometimes unchangeable, reality.

Plot Keywords:

Children | Janitor | Mistaken Identity | Independent Film | Character Name In Title

Awards:

16 wins & 3 nominations

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Nadim Sawalha	...	Abu Raed
Rana Sultan	...	Nour
Hussein Al-Sous
Udey Al-Qiddissi
Ghandi Saber	...	Abu Murad
Dina Raad-Yaghnam	...	Um Murad
Nadim Mushahwar	...	Sameh
Faisal Majali	...	Ziad
Mohammad Qteshat	...	Hilal
Khaled Al-Safi	...	Ali
Rami Samara	...	Chubby Boy
Ayat Najah Abd Al-Sadeq	...	Petra
Lara Sawalha	...	Girlfriend at party
Khuloud Khaled Issa	...	Khuloud
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Phaedra Dahdaleh	...	Nour's Friend
Claire Naber	...	Lady writing name
Fawaz Zoubi	...	Pilot

Runtime:

102 min | Argentina:110 min

Country:

Jordan

Language:

Arabic

Color:

Color

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Netherlands:9

Filming Locations:

Amman, Jordan

Company:

Paper and Pen Films

Trivia:

The director has a cameo as the very first janitor to cross frame in the beginning of the film. The next shot, a pilot crosses frame leading the camera to Abu Raed. That headless pilot is producer David Pritchard.

Truly Moving Picture

I am a judge for the Indianapolis-based Heartland Film Festival. This feature film is a Crystal Heart Award Winner and is eligible to be the Grand Prize Winner in October of 2008. The Heartland Film Festival is a non-profit that honors Truly Moving Pictures. A Truly Moving Picture "…explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life." Raed is an elderly, Jordanian man who seems to be a simple janitor at an airport. But things change for him when he finds a discarded Captain's hat that he wears home. The neighborhood children promote him to a world savy pilot and he promotes himself to being an excellent and imaginative storyteller.

But Raed is not a simple man. We slowly find out that he is wise and well read. And, he has suffered tragedies in his life that would break most men and make them bitter. Raed resists being morose and adds positively to the world around him. He is kind to strangers, he mentors children with exploitive parents, and he makes other's lives easier and more fun.

But this wouldn't be much of a story if there weren't a strong conflict. Next door to Raed there is a family dominated by a husband and father who is a wife-beater, child-beater, and drunk. What can an old man do to help? It reminds one of the quote – "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." Raed is a good man of courage and sacrifice. He does something.

FYI – There is a Truly Moving Pictures web site where there is a listing of past Truly Moving Picture Award winners that are now either at the theater or available on video.