Captain Abu Raed

Movie: Captain Abu Raed

I saw it on:  August 16, 2009

Cast:  Nadim Sawalha, Rana Sultan, Hussein Al-Sous, Udey Al-Qiddissi, Ghandi Saber, Dina Raad-Yaghnam, Nadim Mushahwar, Faisal Majali, Mohammad Qteshat, Khaled Al-Safi

Genres: Drama, Subtitiled

Synopsis: This is a Jordanian movie.  It is set in Amman, Jordan.  The main character is Abu Raed (Nadim Sawalha).  Abu is a janitor at the Amman airport.  His beloved wife died 5 or 6 years earlier. Although Abu regularly has an extra chair at the table in memory of his wife, he seems content in life.  One day he finds an airline captain’s hat in the trash at the airport.  He wears it home.  The children of his run-down neighborhood see his hat and conclude that is is really an airline captain.  After a half-hearted denial, Abu goes along with the idea.  Soon he is regaling the children with (made-up) stories of his exploits around the world.

Other main characters are Nour (Rana Sultan), Murad (Hussein Al-Sous) and  Tareq (Udey Al-Qiddissi). 

Nour is an actual airline pilot.  She lives with her parents, who appear to be extremely wealthy.  Nour is struggling to follow her own life – which is not the life her father is attempting to guide her into.  She finds an ally and sounding board in Abu.  Although they make a bit of an odd couple, the fondness (strictly platonic) between them seems real.

Nurad has an abusive father.  Tareq is extremely smart and is being thwarted in his desire for an education by his father who wants him to be a peddler.  Abu seeks to help both of these boys, with varying degrees of success.

My two cents:  First of all, the movie is subtitled.  The subtitles were well-done and easy to read.  A pet peeve of mine is subtitled movies in which the subtitles often blend in with the background, making them almost invisible – not a problem with this movie.  I found this movie to be a real gem.  What I loved about Abu is that although he is a “lowly” janitor, he sees nothing to be embarrassed about with his job.  He is content to do his world-traveling in his head with his imagination and his books.  You really feel the frustration and desperation of Abu when he is trying to figure out how to help these children.

I was surprised to find a female airline captain in Jordan.  I guess I am guilty of assuming that a Middle-East country would not allow women to be airline captains.  At my age, I should know better than to make unfounded assumptions like that.  Shame on me.  The actress who played Nour is an absolutely stunning beauty.  The way she handled the prospective suitors her father kept producing was quite funny and well-done.  Although they make a bit of an odd couple, the fondness (strictly platonic) between them seems real.  I would love to see both her and Nadim Sawalha in more movies.

I would not be in the least surprised to see Captain Abu Raed in the running for Best Foreign Film at Oscar time.