Very sentimental but it did touch me.

This is story of "Abu Raed" a Jordanian Janotor who works at the airport. One day he found an pioits hat in the trash, and it changed his world. He wore and the kids in his neighbor hood treated him like trolley. He told them stories, they trusted him, and then the older kids ruined everything. Abu Raed loves people, in a way that is nearly unknown in film, particularly film that doens't have some sort of religious undertone. He's a smart man,who understands literature, economics, and world politics, who just ended where he did because of life. This film had everythign. Cute kids, funny old men. A love story, of sorts. Action/adventure. Produced an emotional response. Had enough predictability to make you feel comfortable, but just enough turn from predictability to make it entertaining and not boring. I highly recommend.

Captain Abu Raed (Arabic: ????? ??? ????) Jordanian Film written and directed by Amin Matalqa. Starring UK-based Nadim Sawalha in title role. Film was Jordanian entry at Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film but couldn't make it to final list. It is said to be the first feature-length film ever to be made in 50 years in the history of Jordan. Captain Abu Raed received multiple awards and nomination for Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival. Film portrays recounts of adult Captain Murad, watching over flights from Queen Alia Airport. In slum area of Amman an old man Abu Raed lives at hilltop watching over the city Amman. His wife has been dead for five years - he has compilation of more than 2000 books in his house on various subjects 'politics, language, history, science, literature'. He works as a janitor at airport. One day he finds Captain's cap discarded in the dust-bin, he dons the cap and returns to his home only to be welcomed by small children who believe that he is the captain - at first he shoos them away but to keep their hearts, he tells them imaginary stories about flying to Paris, New York City, London. Young Murad informs all kids that he has been lying to them and that he is a janitor and captain do not live in area where they all do. Murad's father is drunkard and violent, always beats him and his mother at night, which is why Abu doesn't mind his mean and taunting behavior. Abu Raed also befriends female captain Noure who is the only daughter of rich elite and caring father and mother - they have been trying to hear her yes for marriage. Abu Raed and Noure plan to help disturbed family of Murad escape their violent father/husband. Amin Matalqa's direction is good. There were few more characters whose stories bore strong dialogues and audience might be interested in learning about 'what happened to them'- from what I believe, is that director should have let us know that there is not just 'Murad' but too many complicated children suffering from domestic problems, child-labor. Good story!

Heartwarming story of friendship

Abu Raed (Nadim Sawalha)is a simple airport janitor at the International Airport in Amman. One day he finds a discarded captain's hat in the garbage.When he wears it on his way home, one of the kids in the neighborhood mistake him for a pilot and wants him to tell about 'his adventures'. Though he is unwilling to tell any story at first, Abu Raed doesn't mind pretending to be the local captain who regales the kids with his 'airborne exploits.' What seems to be a simple,unimportant hat at first turns out to be a treasure trove of love and fun.We later find out that Abu Raed is a guy who resists being an embittered, hardened old man in spite of the fact that he lost his wife and his only child. Though he is a simple janitor, he speaks profoundly from the heart. He is well-read and wise. He even has a smattering of a few European languages. With such an original story, truly moving picture and convincing acting you just want it to be bit more fast-paced actually. Since there are lots of subplots in the movie, during almost more than half of the movie you just wonder which set of events (or people) will be regarded less important. Whose story will be developed? The story of Nour (Rana Sultan), a female pilot whose wealthy father poorly tries to find her a husband or the story of the local kid Tareq (Udey Al-Qiddissi)who is forced into child labor by his father instead of going to school? In the end, Amin Matalqa chooses to tell the story of Abu Murad whose mother constantly gets beaten by his abusive father. Though you can't tell everyone's story in a feature length movie, Mataqa's finalizing all these subplots in a finale in the last twenty minutes leaves a half-baked flavor in your cinematic enjoyment and you wish it were a better-paced and better-edited movie but that doesn't mean Abu Raed is not a movie that's worth every minute of your time.It is purely humanitarian,truly moving movie which somehow gets to you. The pièce de résistance, however, is the fact that this movie Amin Matalqa's feature length debut. 4 1/2 Stars 9-5-13

Excellent story about the human experience.

Saw it once, then repeated it with Director's and Composer's commentary on! Engaging indeed, even for that restless night when I watched it. Written and directed by a Jordanian and submitted for Foreign Film at the Oscars aside from being nominated for 27 international movie awards. Loved the scenes in hilly Amman (which were partly filmed in rustic As-Salt) and the inspiring music of Austin Wintory. Found myself exclaiming ''I was at the same spot in Queen Alia Airport!", "I was in a similar bus/cab and on that road!" Anyway...! Abu Raed is an avid reader, leading a humble existence; and having gone through grief, puts it aside and rises to the unexpected role of storyteller to awe-inspired neigbourhood kids who mistake him for an airline pilot. While pretty Rana is a real pilot on Royal Jordanian - classy and dignified and epitomizing the modern Jordanian woman perfectly. Each character faces struggles - as their lives cross, they open up and share. There is an abusive husband thrown in, and his hardened cynical son Murad eventually becomes a central part of the storyline. We also get to see poverty, modern pressures, dignity, pain and eventually sacrifice. "He who chooses the humble life has guidance in his heart''...

A good film but not well written and revised however its a very prestigious attempt by Amin matalqa... I thought it would be a happy ending, overwhelmingly heartwarming kinda movie but disappointingly it turned to be such an all American self-sacrifice bullshit crap. The score was nice, marvelous acting by the lead actor and magnificent locations. Overall its a worth seeing film.

A good film but not well written and revised however its a very prestigious attempt by Amin matalqa... I thought it would be a happy ending, overwhelmingly heartwarming kinda movie but disappointingly it turned to be such an all American self-sacrifice bullshit crap. The score was nice, marvelous acting by the lead actor and magnificent locations. Overall its a worth seeing film.

awal ,tengah dan akhir gak ada yg berasa sia2...,recomended..!!

It's been a long long time since a movie made me cry... Beautiful film!

It's heartfelt, but it's also overly sentimental and overly cliched. I guess if you've seen everything that needed to be seen and exhausted all of the more notorious foreign films then you may enjoy it, but just don't expect anything special.

Wooo Woooo best!! Citer ni ada kat wayang, sempena ape film fest ntah. Tapi aku download je, lagi pun criter 3 tahun lepas. Aku dah download 2009 dulu lagi, tapi hdd aku kong, habis takleh selamatkan. Ni aku download balik. Memang terbaik. 4.5 bintang! See it for yourself. Malaysia ada citer macam ni? Ko ada? Ko ada? Jaguh kampung je.. tak layak ke international pun!

A nice little story, but I think it had more potential.

The first Jordanian film I've seen if I remember correctly. A quite slow paced film that tell quite a story. I enjoyed the performances and the sub plots. It's a bit easy to predict - at least the main happenings even if they take some unexpected turns. It starts of pretty soft but gets far darker after a while. Sadly it never really get me, I wasn't really gripped but I think the story will stick with me for a while. I guess the lack of atmosphere and intensity made this film good but never great for me.

This film about an old airport janitor with a heart of gold is shamelessly designed to pull at your heartstrings, and many will find they've seen this archetype many times over. However, this is a very well acted, really sweet story, which also delves in tough situations like poverty and domestic violence. This 2007 Oscar nominated film for best foreign movie is a refreshing reminder that in the Arab world not all is war, terrorism or religious fundamentalism, but situations and stories we all share as human race.

A poetic movie that keeps you glued to it until its end.

Decent story which goes with another plot line mid-way but quickly recovers for a satisfying end.

My first Jordanian film (and very likely the only Jordanian film most Americans will ever see). It starts off wistful and sappy (and unfortunately the musical sountrack stays that way throughout), but about halfway through the story takes a dark turn, and by the end it has put you through an emotional wringer. Beautifully filmed, rewarding to watch, this is a movie you will long remember.

tugs at your heart like no other movie... beautiful cinematography.