Matt Shea
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Morgan Bell
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David O'Connell
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Captain Abu Raed
November 21st 2009 06:20
The variety of marketing materials that have appeared for Captain Abu Raed’s almost two year pilgrimage about the festivals and cinemas of the globe can make for some confusing reading. Is it the first Independent Jordanian film? Or is it the first film out of Jordan in 50 years? Or then again, is it the first film ever exported from Jordan to the world's cinemas? After significant research it’s impossible to tell, but suffice to say it’s been a long time between drinks for the Kingdom’s silver screen industry.
Interestingly enough, though, Jordan’s filmmakers haven’t busted down the door with a cinematic gem of nerveless political precision or stark social commentary. Captain Abu Raed is instead a gentle, humble and universal film – a direct descendant of works such as Cinema Paradiso, where the central story exists away from an overt rendering of the society that would have undoubtedly affected its characters.
London-based actor Nadim Sawalha plays Abu Raed, an elderly widower who works as a janitor at Amman’s Queen Alia International Airport. The man is a thinker and observer, quietly content with his humble lot in life.
One afternoon, however, Abu Raed inexplicably finds a pilot’s hat in the rubbish. Wearing it home that evening, the local kids mistake him for the hat’s original owner and soon Abu Raed finds himself being arm twisted into telling stories about trails he’s never travelled.
Providing the grist for these tall tales is Nour (Rana Sultan), a 30-something airline pilot who’s being put under pressure by a busybody father to settle down and start a family, while benefiting most are Tareq (Udey Al-Qiddissi) and Murad (Hussein Al-Sous), two youngsters who in their own separate ways are grappling with family dramas.
You can’t say its anything daringly original, the film’s message about not consigning your dreams to the scrap yard of reality being one that’s been told many times before. And the treatment can be depressingly familiar at times: an early scene where Abu Raed chats quietly to the photo of his dead wife before ‘sharing’ a pot of tea with her on the terrace is straight out of Arthouse 101.
Thankfully, at its centre the film has Nadim Sawalha and he proves himself a minor master of subtle emotion. There’s almost music to the way he moves, observes and waits – forever patient, always considered. Even the maddeningly gorgeous Sultan, herself an able player, can’t wrestle the picture away from him.
Captain Abu Raed also displays some solid performances from its younger cast members. Al-Qiddissi’s Tareq is all hesitant sensitivity as he harasses Abu Raed for yet another tall story, while Al-Sous brings an intensity not usually associated with such young actors to the role of the abused Murad.
Indeed, the strength of the performances holds Captain Abu Raed together, helping the film leap over its more clichéd elements and the occasionally uninspired technical aspects. An unlikely and poorly handled endgame is particularly disappointing, indicating writer/director Amin Matalqa needed to parse his script a few more times before bringing it to production.
But Matalqa’s weaknesses as a writer are perhaps balanced by his strengths as a director, and the handling of the players in particular is what makes this film worth seeing. In any case, it’s refreshing to see an independent release from a country such as Jordan, and Captain Abu Raed’s universal nature will hopefully see it find a solid international audience.
I say: A familiar story told with just enough originality to make it interesting, despite the flaky ending.
See it for: Being the first Jordanian film in a long time. You’ll probably want to pay a visit afterwards.
*This picture is from AllMoviePhoto
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