A beautiful, tender tale that not only sneaks into the hearts of the audience, but may well be a definining moment in Jordanian cinema.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jul 7, 2019

This is a first film, but a well-executed one.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Dec 5, 2018

Aan engaging Jordanian film about friendship between generations -- and courage at any age.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Apr 16, 2010

Great taste isn't quite the same as great filmmaking, and director Matalqa sometimes lapses into broad humour and even broader melodrama in this generally low-key, wistful tale.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Apr 16, 2010

...the movie finally can't help but come off as a disappointing missed opportunity.

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | Apr 16, 2010

A sweet-tempered tale about the power of fantasy and storytelling becomes a starker parable about human connection and personal sacrifice.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Apr 16, 2010

a genuine find, a humane and compelling movie of scale. Written and directed by Jordanian-American Amin Matalqa, it's a simple tale of airport janitor Abu Raed (Nadim Sawalha), who is mistaken for an airline pilot by the children in his working-class neig

| Original Score: 89/100 | Mar 26, 2010

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

| Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 23, 2009

A rare Middle Eastern film that keeps its focus on its characters rather than larger concerns that mirror the region's continuing strife.

| Original Score: B- | Sep 16, 2009

Matalqa's film shows how the most liberating flights might be those of the imagination.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 16, 2009

[A] heartwarming drama.

| Sep 4, 2009

A moving dramatic fable about an elderly airport janitor's relationship with a bunch of Amman street kids.

| Sep 4, 2009

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.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Sep 4, 2009

It's easy to get attached to Captain Abu Raed

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 27, 2009

Writer-director Amin Matalqa's debut affirms life, plucks heartstrings, and knows no shame.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 27, 2009

This is a loving, sad and tragic film, but a hopeful movie, too.

| Original Score: A- | Aug 22, 2009

His journey makes for a complex film that goes beyond the obvious. It, too, travels. And it travels well.

| Original Score: B | Aug 21, 2009

An endearing blend of myth and melodrama that forthrightly explores family abuse in its own society.

Full Review | Aug 21, 2009

...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.

| Original Score: B+ | Aug 17, 2009

Captain Abu Raed reaches for restrained empathy but cannot hide its bald-faced emotional manipulations and squishy, sentimental core.

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | Aug 14, 2009