A stealthily powerful drama ... highlighted by a beautiful score and strong performances.
Comment
10/23/09
Captain Abu Raed (2008)
84
%
Tomatometer
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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.
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... [More]
Reviews for Captain Abu Raed
Gentle, humanistic and suffocatingly sentimental.
09/16/09
Matalqa's film shows how the most liberating flights might be those of the imagination.
09/16/09
[A] heartwarming drama.
09/04/09
A moving dramatic fable about an elderly airport janitor's relationship with a bunch of Amman street kids.
09/04/09
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.
09/04/09
It's easy to get attached to Captain Abu Raed
08/27/09
Writer-director Amin Matalqa’s debut affirms life, plucks heartstrings, and knows no shame.
08/27/09
This is a loving, sad and tragic film, but a hopeful movie, too.
08/22/09
His journey makes for a complex film that goes beyond the obvious. It, too, travels. And it travels well.
08/21/09
An endearing blend of myth and melodrama that forthrightly explores family abuse in its own society.
08/21/09
Top Critic...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.
08/17/09
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.
08/14/09
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.
08/14/09
Top CriticEager, 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.
08/12/09
It's a simple story told with dignity and aiming for universal relevance.
07/24/09
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.
07/03/09
'Captain Abu Raed' could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship between new filmmaker Amin Matalqa and discerning moviegoers everywhere.
06/28/09
Nadim Sawalha gives a terrific performance, subtle and complex, and most effective when the camera simply lingers on his face.
11/12/08
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.
11/07/08
Top CriticLatest News for Captain Abu Raed
July 12, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review 
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