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

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

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

| Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 27, 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

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

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.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Aug 14, 2009

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.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 14, 2009

Eager, 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.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 12, 2009

It's a simple story told with dignity and aiming for universal relevance.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 24, 2009

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.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 3, 2009

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.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Nov 7, 2008

Such a subtle yet global view of human struggle -- the whole world viewed through the prism of a single poor neighborhood -- is a mark of extraordinary promise from this remarkable new filmmaker.

| Nov 6, 2008

Captain Abu Raed is a straightforward heart-tugging melodrama that, while safe and conventional, is likable in numerous ways.

Full Review | Jan 30, 2008

Belies the inexperience of its makers, for it's a substantial, deeply moving film that has the potential to captivate audiences everywhere.

Full Review | Jan 22, 2008