A stealthily powerful drama ... highlighted by a beautiful score and strong performances.

Rate this Movie ![]()
- Showtimes & Tickets
- Write a Review
- Read Reviews
- Add to List
- Get this Movie
- Buy Poster

- Visit Official Site

Captain Abu Raed (2008)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:25
Fresh:21
Rotten:4
Average Rating:6.9/10
Consensus: A poetic and deeply felt debut by director Amin Matalqa, Captain Abu Raed is simultaneously mythic and melodramatic.
Theatrical Release:Nov 7, 2008 Limited
Synopsis:
Captain Abu Raed is a universal story of friendship, inspiration and heroism set in contemporary Jordan.
Abu Raed is a lonely janitor at Amman’s International Airport. Never having realized his...
Captain Abu Raed is a universal story of friendship, inspiration and heroism set in contemporary Jordan.
Abu Raed is a lonely janitor at Amman’s International Airport. Never having realized his dreams of seeing the world, he experiences it vicariously through books and brief encounters with travelers.
Finding a discarded Captain’s hat in the trash at work one day, he is followed by a neighborhood boy who spots him wearing it as he walks home. The next morning he wakes up to find a group of neighborhood children at his door, believing him to be an airline pilot. And thus the friendship begins. Happy for the company and attention, he takes the children to colorful places around the world through his fictional stories and inspires them to believe in their own ambitions.
Murad, an angry outsider to the group, vindictively attacks Abu Raed and the sense of hope he instills in the children. In his quest to prove that Abu Raed is a liar and a fake, Murad begins to discover new possibilities in his life. Meanwhile, Abu Raed’s friendship with Nour, a real female pilot, begins to grow as she deals with her own set of pressures from life in modern Amman.
Captain Abu Raed is the story of everyday people intersecting across social boundaries. It is a story of dreams, friendship, forgiveness, and sacrifice. --© Official Site
Starring: Nadim Sawalha
Starring: Nadim Sawalha
Director: Amin Matalqa
Director: Amin Matalqa
Screenwriter: Amin Matalqa
Get This Movie
Reviews for Captain Abu Raed
Matalqa's film shows how the most liberating flights might be those of the imagination.
A moving dramatic fable about an elderly airport janitor's relationship with a bunch of Amman street kids.
Despite the film's flaws, there's something winsome about Abu Raed in his captain's hat, entertaining kids with visits to cities that exist only in his imagination.
Writer-director Amin Matalqa’s debut affirms life, plucks heartstrings, and knows no shame.
His journey makes for a complex film that goes beyond the obvious. It, too, travels. And it travels well.
An endearing blend of myth and melodrama that forthrightly explores family abuse in its own society.
...both the somewhat sentimental tale of a senior citizen making a change in the life of a child and a movie that forges its own path with unexpected developments.
There's an aura of tension as Abu Raed helps a boy escape from his abusive father. And the location shots of Amman are impressive.
Mr. Matalqa seems more interested in a wistful atmosphere than in complexity. Mr. Sawalha, a veteran television and film actor, has no trouble creating that.
Eager, earnest and ultimately a little too easy on the conscience, Amin Matalqa’s Jordanian melodrama is social commentary with the gloss of classical Italian drama.
It's a simple story told with dignity and aiming for universal relevance.
Making a polished feature debut after directing shorts at the American Film Institute, Jordanian-born, American-educated Matalqa demonstrates a subtle touch with a well-chosen cast.
'Captain Abu Raed' could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship between new filmmaker Amin Matalqa and discerning moviegoers everywhere.
Nadim Sawalha gives a terrific performance, subtle and complex, and most effective when the camera simply lingers on his face.
Amin Matalqa's teary drama, Captain Abu Raed, takes its obvious cues from the neorealism of Satyajit Ray and Jean Renoir, but Matalqa doesn't know how to balance melodrama with quiet moments the way the masters did.
Latest News for Captain Abu Raed
July 12, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review ![]()
More...
January 28, 2008:
Frozen River, The Wackness Lead 2008 Sundance Winners
The dust has settled in Park City, and now that the votes have been counted and the hardware's been handed out, we can give you 2008's Sundance rundown! More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie | Date |
|---|---|---|
| | Before Tomorrow | 12/2 |
| | Film Ist: A Girl & A Gun | 12/2 |
| | Transylmania | 12/4 |
| | Brothers | 12/4 |
| | Everybody's Fine | 12/4 |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Around The Network
- Captain Abu Raed at Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh Links
Featured

TECHLAND gives us a first look at the extras, including Leonard Nimoy's last day on set!

AV Club looks at a beloved cult classic, Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness.

TIME offers us a closer look at the characters from the latest Twilight film.

Moviefone lists their choices for the least attractive men in Hollywood.
Promos

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!


Top Critic


