Captain Abu Raed
Encyclopedia
Captain Abu Raed is a 2007
Jordanian Film directed and written by Amin Matalqa. It was the first feature film produced in Jordan in more than 50 years. The Royal Film Commission of Jordan endorsed Captain Abu Raed to be submitted to the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, the first ever submitted by Jordan. The film won awards at numerous film festivals including the Sundance Film Festival
, Heartland Film Festival
, and the Dubai International Film Festival
. It was screened at the Jerusalem International Film Festival in 2008.
Raed is an airport janitor at the Queen Alia International Airport
in Amman
who has lost his wife and son. After finding a Royal Jordanian
captain's hat in the trash, the neighborhood children mistake him for an airline pilot and beg him to tell them stories of his adventures. At first refusing, he later concedes and tells them about his fictional travels to England, France, and New York, earning the name "Captain Abu Raed"
An older child, Murad, knows who Abu Raed really is and sets out to prove this to the other children wrong, repeating the phrase "People like us don't grow up to be pilots." With some dinars
he found, Murad takes the other children on a taxi ride to the airport to show them the truth about Abu Raed. The children are heartbroken at seeing their idol on his hands and knees, scrubbing the floor.
It is later shown that Murad had stolen the money from his father Abu Murad, who, drunk after a hard day selling women's clothing on the street, often abused
Murad's mother, Um Murad. Abu Murad was exceptionally mad about the loss of money and took it out on his wife.
Abu Raed, after being exposed as a phony, forgave Murad and gave him the pilot hat as a token of forgiveness. Later， Murad steals a model airplane and gets his hand burned for it. Abu Raed is there to comfort him, creating a bond between the two. This event convinces Abu Raed to find a way to bring Murad, his younger brother, and his mother to safety.
Meanwhile, at the airport and on the bus home, Abu Raed gets to know Nour, a female pilot whose wealthy father poorly attempted to find her a husband. During a friendly visit to his home, he tells her about his past, including a deceased wife and son, Raed.
Abu Raed also had to deal with Tareq, one of the children whom he told stories to, whose father had him selling wafers on the street rather than going to school. Abu Raed knew he was a smart boy so he bought all of his wafers so Tareq could attend school. However, this was a mixed blessing as Abu Tareq would then give Tareq more wafers to sell, seeing as he was a good salesman.
One night, before Abu Murad gets home, Abu Raed develops a plan to protect Murad and his family. Nour volunteers to take them in, because her wealthy family owns a large house. She brings her car to the living area where Abu Raed and the Murads live, and they hurriedly pack the belongings of the Murad family. As they are about to leave, Murad runs back to retrieve the pilot's cap, a symbol of his dreams and aspirations. Nour then sets off for her house, as Tareq appears and asks what is going on, to which Abu Raed replies, "Nothing." Tareq becomes the last person, other than a drunk Abu Murad, to see Abu Raed alive.
Despite repeated warnings from Um Murad that "He's going to kill you", Abu Raed sits in the Murad apartment and awaits Abu Murad's return. Upon finding his house empty, Abu Murad threatens Abu Raed's life. Abu Raed is implied to have been killed in that apartment. Years later, a grown-up Murad is seen watching the airfield as a Royal Jordanian
pilot.
.
Although the date of the movie is never specified by any notes or characters, the usage of the Eastern Arabic numerals
on vehicles' license plates implies that the movie takes place in the past, as a recollection from youth by the adult Captain Murad. Jordan switched from the Eastern Arabic numeral system to standard Arabic numerals
in the 1990's.
Nominated
2007 in film
This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...
Jordanian Film directed and written by Amin Matalqa. It was the first feature film produced in Jordan in more than 50 years. The Royal Film Commission of Jordan endorsed Captain Abu Raed to be submitted to the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, the first ever submitted by Jordan. The film won awards at numerous film festivals including the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
, Heartland Film Festival
Heartland Film Festival
The Heartland Film Festival is a film festival held each October in Indianapolis, Indiana. First held in 1992, its goal is to "recognize and honor filmmakers whose work explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life."In May 2007, Heartland...
, and the Dubai International Film Festival
Dubai International Film Festival
The Dubai International Film Festival is an international film festival based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Launched in 2004, it aims to foster the growth of filmmaking in the Arab world.-Overview:...
. It was screened at the Jerusalem International Film Festival in 2008.
Plot
AbuAbu
-Places:* Abu , a volcano on the island of Honshū in Japan* Mount Abu is the highest mountain in the Indian state of Rajasthan* Abu, Yamaguchi is a town in Japan-Names:* Ab , a common part of Arabic-derived names, meaning "father of" in Arabic...
Raed is an airport janitor at the Queen Alia International Airport
Queen Alia International Airport
Queen Alia International Airport is Jordan's largest airport that is situated in Zizya area, 20 miles south of Amman. The airport has three terminals: two passenger terminals and one cargo terminal. It is the home hub of Royal Jordanian Airlines, the national flag carrier, as well as being a...
in Amman
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
who has lost his wife and son. After finding a Royal Jordanian
Royal Jordanian
Royal Jordanian Airlines is the flag carrier of Jordan with its head office in Amman, Jordan, operating scheduled international services over four continents from its main base at Queen Alia International Airport at Amman Jordan. Royal Jordanian is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization...
captain's hat in the trash, the neighborhood children mistake him for an airline pilot and beg him to tell them stories of his adventures. At first refusing, he later concedes and tells them about his fictional travels to England, France, and New York, earning the name "Captain Abu Raed"
An older child, Murad, knows who Abu Raed really is and sets out to prove this to the other children wrong, repeating the phrase "People like us don't grow up to be pilots." With some dinars
Jordanian dinar
The dinar is the currency of Jordan. The dinar is divided into 10 dirham, 100 qirsh or 1000 fils....
he found, Murad takes the other children on a taxi ride to the airport to show them the truth about Abu Raed. The children are heartbroken at seeing their idol on his hands and knees, scrubbing the floor.
It is later shown that Murad had stolen the money from his father Abu Murad, who, drunk after a hard day selling women's clothing on the street, often abused
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
Murad's mother, Um Murad. Abu Murad was exceptionally mad about the loss of money and took it out on his wife.
Abu Raed, after being exposed as a phony, forgave Murad and gave him the pilot hat as a token of forgiveness. Later， Murad steals a model airplane and gets his hand burned for it. Abu Raed is there to comfort him, creating a bond between the two. This event convinces Abu Raed to find a way to bring Murad, his younger brother, and his mother to safety.
Meanwhile, at the airport and on the bus home, Abu Raed gets to know Nour, a female pilot whose wealthy father poorly attempted to find her a husband. During a friendly visit to his home, he tells her about his past, including a deceased wife and son, Raed.
Abu Raed also had to deal with Tareq, one of the children whom he told stories to, whose father had him selling wafers on the street rather than going to school. Abu Raed knew he was a smart boy so he bought all of his wafers so Tareq could attend school. However, this was a mixed blessing as Abu Tareq would then give Tareq more wafers to sell, seeing as he was a good salesman.
One night, before Abu Murad gets home, Abu Raed develops a plan to protect Murad and his family. Nour volunteers to take them in, because her wealthy family owns a large house. She brings her car to the living area where Abu Raed and the Murads live, and they hurriedly pack the belongings of the Murad family. As they are about to leave, Murad runs back to retrieve the pilot's cap, a symbol of his dreams and aspirations. Nour then sets off for her house, as Tareq appears and asks what is going on, to which Abu Raed replies, "Nothing." Tareq becomes the last person, other than a drunk Abu Murad, to see Abu Raed alive.
Despite repeated warnings from Um Murad that "He's going to kill you", Abu Raed sits in the Murad apartment and awaits Abu Murad's return. Upon finding his house empty, Abu Murad threatens Abu Raed's life. Abu Raed is implied to have been killed in that apartment. Years later, a grown-up Murad is seen watching the airfield as a Royal Jordanian
Royal Jordanian
Royal Jordanian Airlines is the flag carrier of Jordan with its head office in Amman, Jordan, operating scheduled international services over four continents from its main base at Queen Alia International Airport at Amman Jordan. Royal Jordanian is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization...
pilot.
Setting
Many of the movie's open scenes are set on the well-known Roman ruins high above Amman, on Jabal al-Qal'a. The "Making of Captain Abu Raed" on the Western release of the DVD points out that although the movie takes place entirely in Amman and the airport, the neighborhood surrounding Abu Raed's home was shot in the neighboring old city of SaltSalt, Jordan
Salt is an ancient agricultural town and administrative centre in west-central Jordan. It is on the old main highway leading from Amman to Jerusalem. Situated in the Balqa highland, about 790–1100 metres above sea level, the town is built in the crook of three hills, close to the Jordan River...
.
Although the date of the movie is never specified by any notes or characters, the usage of the Eastern Arabic numerals
Eastern Arabic numerals
The Eastern Arabic numerals are the symbols used to represent the Hindu-Arabic numeral system in conjunction with the Arabic alphabet in the countries of the Arab world....
on vehicles' license plates implies that the movie takes place in the past, as a recollection from youth by the adult Captain Murad. Jordan switched from the Eastern Arabic numeral system to standard Arabic numerals
Arabic numerals
Arabic numerals or Hindu numerals or Hindu-Arabic numerals or Indo-Arabic numerals are the ten digits . They are descended from the Hindu-Arabic numeral system developed by Indian mathematicians, in which a sequence of digits such as "975" is read as a numeral...
in the 1990's.
Cast
- Nadim SawalhaNadim SawalhaNadim Sawalha is a Jordanian-born English actor and father of actresses Julia and Nadia Sawalha.He was born in Madaba in 1935 and came to England from Jordan in the 1950s, to study drama...
- Abu Raed - Rana Sultan - Nour
- Hussein Al-Sous - Murad
- Udey Al-Qiddissi - Tareq
- Ghandi Saber - Abu Murad
- Dina Ra’ad-Yaghnam - Um Murad
Awards
Won- 2007 Dubai International Film FestivalDubai International Film FestivalThe Dubai International Film Festival is an international film festival based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Launched in 2004, it aims to foster the growth of filmmaking in the Arab world.-Overview:...
- Muhr Award - Best Actor: Nadim Sawalha
- 2008 Durban International Film FestivalDurban International Film FestivalThe Durban International Film Festival is an annual film festival that takes place in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. It is one of the oldest and largest film festival in Southern African and presents over 200 screenings celebrating the best in South African, African and...
- Best First Feature Film
- 2008 Heartland Film FestivalHeartland Film FestivalThe Heartland Film Festival is a film festival held each October in Indianapolis, Indiana. First held in 1992, its goal is to "recognize and honor filmmakers whose work explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life."In May 2007, Heartland...
- Crystal Heart Award - Feature Film
- Grand Prize for Dramatic Feature
- 2008 Newport Beach Film FestivalNewport Beach Film FestivalThe Newport Beach Film Festival is a film festival in the United States held in Newport Beach, California, that showcases more than 350 films to more than 30,000 attendees annually....
- Jury Award - Best Actor - Nadim Sawalha
- Jury Award - Best Actress - Rana Sultan
- 2008 Seattle International Film FestivalSeattle International Film FestivalThe Seattle International Film Festival , held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees...
- Best Director Golden Space Needle Award - Amin Matalqa
- 2008 Sundance Film Festival2008 Sundance Film FestivalThe 2008 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 17, 2008 to January 27 in Park City, Utah. It was the 24th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. The opening night film was In Bruges and the closing night film was CSNY Déjà Vu.-Films:...
- Audience Award - World Cinema - Dramatic
Nominated
- 2008 Sundance Film Festival
- Grand Jury Prize - World Cinema - Dramatic
See also
- Cinema of JordanCinema of JordanJordan is a country with strong political support and a variety of locations that have been used by filmmakers from all over the world. Films that have been shot in Jordan include Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade which was filmed in Petra' in 1988. Lawrence of Arabia directed by David Lean was...
- List of Jordanian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
External links
- Producer Nadine Toukan's Captain Abu Raed connection
- Captain Abu Raed in Best of Jordan