CAPTAIN ABU RAED (2007) ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢
D: Amin Matalqa
Nadim Sawalha, Rana Sultan, Hussein Al-Sous
Dear Ms. Applebaum,
I just caught a good little movie at the Varsity called "Captain Abu Raed". It's about an old janitor working at the Amman airport who finds a pilot's cap in a trash can and decides to wear it home. He's walking up to his flat when a young boy notices the cap and asks if he's a pilot. He says no but the boy insists, and pretty soon the "captain" is entertaining the neighborhood kids with colorful, made-up stories about his adventures flying planes all over the world. There's more to it than that. It has a lot to do with domestic abuse and the way poverty negates opportunity and how people deal with loss. (The movie's not as downbeat as that probably sounds.) The actor who plays the old man is terrific. If you've ever wanted to take a vicarious trip to Jordan, here's your chance.
Nick
