Captain Abu Raed (Jordan 2008) **
Directed by Amin Matalqa

CAPTAIN ABU RAED is no captain.  The poor kids in his neighborhood think he is a pilot after Abu Raed (Nadim Sawalha), in reality a janitor at the Jordan International airport finds a captain’s hat in the trash.

And so, Abu Raed weaves tales of splendor of his adventures around the various cities in the world he has supposedly visited, concocted from either the books he has read or from encounters of passengers at the airport.  So is the stiff dreams are made of.  And the dreams of writer/director Matalqa have also come true in getting his film, the first Jordan film to be get a major release outside the country and also the first feature film made in Jordan in 50 years.

Matalqa’s film depicts the harsh realities of the poor and oppressed.  Abu Raed also meets a real pilot, Nour (Rana Sultan), a female upset with her father for setting up with various suitors.  But Raed’s main encounter is with Murad (Hussein Al-sous), an older child who reveals to the others that Abu Raed is a janitor.  But the two develop a bond when Abu Raed comforts Morad for his wife/child beating father (Ghandi Saber).

All the events make good cinematic fodder, especially since it is shot in a country not many are familiar with.  But Matalqa’s film moves at a snail’s pace and there is nothing sort of exciting that happens.  The side plots like the Nour’s problem are never satisfactorily resolved and the impression obtained from the film is that running away solves a problem.  .  Do not expect anything remotely similar to a climax!  Though well-intentioned, CAPTAIN ABU RAED is quite the bore and is akin to hearing an exciting story told by an unexcited storyteller.  Perhaps there should be more graphic wife and child abuse scenes.