Like many, I have been waiting for waiting for Captain Abu Raed, the first Jordanian feature film in decades. The film’s production, understandably, received a lot of media attention in Jordan (dare I say: “hype”?).. Now that it was shown in Dubai, the buzz around it is starting to spread.
Captain Abu Raed will be screened in cinemas across Amman on February 6th according to director Amin Matalaqa, who reported on his blog that the screening at the Dubai Film Festival was a great start for the movie.
Another month’s wait can be tolerated. I have to be honest and say that I have been following the film’s news with excitement yet also with some concern. Our expectations have been raised by all the coverage. In Jordan, one get used to heightened expectations for something new (a new government, TV station, store, service, company, etc) only to get those expectation deflated. I am hoping that Captain Abu Raed, as it symbolizes the rise of a new Jordanian creative class, turns the trend around and pleasantly surprises audiences around the world.
I also hope it will raise the standards of the new embryonic Jordanian filmmaking scene. A couple of years back I attended a local short film festival and I have to say I was rather appalled when I saw how primitive things still were.
Today, I used part of the evening of the 1st of January holiday, to catch up on some local blogs. I was happy to see that over the past couple of weeks, two great reviews have been written about Captain Abu Raed after it was screened in Dubai.
ArabComment » Notes from the Dubai International Film Festival: Captain Abu Raed:
If great books cannot be read, only re-read (this is according to Vladimir Nabokov, a good authority on the subject), then great movies ought to be re-watched, and “Captain Abu Raed” is no exception. This movie will open in Jordan in February of 2008, and it will make its way to Sundance earlier next year as well. I’d love to chase it all over the globe, but will have to sustain myself with memories in the meantime.
Screen Daily – News:
Only a handful of full-length films have come out of Jordan in the fifty years since the country’s first feature, Struggle in Jarash. This makes Captain Abu Raed’s commercial poise and polish all the more remarkable: a moving dramatic fable about an elderly airport janitor’s relationship with a bunch of Amman street kids, Amin Matalqa’s film has the potential to be the Middle East breakout title of 2008, following hard on the heels of Lebanese title Caramel.
Unashamedly sentimental, but with a toughness to the script that saves it from schmaltz, the film is given sharp dramatic focus by the remarkably nuanced performance of London-based Jordanian actor Nadim Sawalha in the title role – for which he received best actor in Dubai.
With its lush orchestral soundtrack (recorded by the Hollywood Studio Symphony) and universal storyline, Captain Abu Raed makes no secret of its crossover ambitions – though its Arabic dialogue and fiercely local settings preserve it, mostly, from the dangers of Disneyfication. Given an upbeat, emotional reception at its Dubai premiere, the film is heading for Sundance, where it may well arrive with a specialty-division US studio deal already inked. Given the right marketing, and a release strategy that allows the film the breathing-space for word of mouth to kick in, Captain Abu Raed could play at the wider end of the limited-release niche worldwide, and a Foreign Film nomination for the 2009 Oscars is by no means unthinkable.
Interesting. Interesting..
The next stop for the Captain is at Sundance..
Then we get to see it in Amman.. Finally..
Comments
6 responses to “Captain Abu Raed: a trailer and two reviews..”
it was also mentioned on Ikbis blog
http://blog.ikbis.com/2007/12/3/amin-matalqa
When I realized it was in Arabic, my first thought was that CAR will cinch the Foreign Film Oscar.
I’ve seen it – you won’t be disappointed, Ahmad. It’s a mighty impressive piece of work – mature, intelligent, worthy of repeat viewings.
I’m not Jordanian, so I can’t say how it will be received by a Jordanian audience (it exposes some touchy issues – spousal abuse, drunkenness, poverty, police corruption/ineptitude, feminism – even though it does so in a responsible, non-exploitative way, and the overall tone of the movie is gentle, quirky, utterly unsensational and focused on the human story), but for an international audience it is 100% spot on. For them, this will put Jordan and Arab filmmaking on the map.
The cinematography (using a state-of-the-art Arriflex digital movie camera – the first feature film in the world to do so) is world-class: it makes Amman look absolutely gorgeous on the big screen. Expect to see a rise in tourism: if I saw this movie, I’d want to go and visit the city – even though most of the street scenes were filmed in Salt!
It will certainly get a release in America, where – given the right PR splash – it could be huge; the tone, the story, the setting, the issues, the characters are all perfect for a US audience. Subtitles will stop it from being a blockbuster, but expect the mainstream US news/entertainment media to lap it up nonetheless – they’re gagging for good-news stories out of the Middle East.
Europe is slightly trickier, because (like that Screen Daily review said) the sentimentality might jar with some people, but it will make an impression nonetheless. And subtitles matter much less there.
Does this all sound like hype? It’s not. Capt Abu Raed breaks new ground. Kinzi is right – this is 2009 Foreign-Language Oscar material.
mt.. thanks for sharing your impressions. This indeed sounds like good news. It seems the ingredients are there.
I really hope that it manages to break into the global mainstream.
Many critics would probably want a more ‘experimental’ film. But the fact is that almost no one watches these. If Captain Abu Raed achieves mainstream recognition it will open the door for BOTH experimental and mainstream films from Jordan.
I am also eager to hear from anyone who saw Recycle City (the other Jordanian film to be screened at Sundance).
Tunisia (or a tunisian director/producer) as well is filming a biography of saddam hussien. Despite the fact that such a topic will definately give attention to saddam more than the art work itself, it remains to be an attempt by Tunisia to look for. If that breaks within 2008 in addition to captain abu al-raed and caramel from Lebanon, all together are good news to restore arab production against Egypt’s downfall to cheap comedy.
Due to similarity of arabic culture between the majority of arab capitals and cities, cinemas are impacted accordingly and development might happen quicker than expectations.
I am an American living in Provo, Utah and saw this film last Saturday, Jan 19, 2008 at the Sundance Film Festival. I work at a local university (Utah Valley University) as an assistant dean for the School of Technology and Computing – we have a Digital Media Department where we train future filmmakers so I have an interest in this field. I had no idea what the movie was about when I sat down in the screening room for its first showing in the USA other than it was the first one from Jordan in many decades. It was outstanding and I was moved to tears by it. I was completely overwhelmed by the quality of this film and the universal message that it portrayed – that one person can make a difference in this world. It weaved the feelings and experiences that all people have in all cultures in the world – to have a family and have loved ones around them – to have dreams and ambitions – to face obstacles and evil by others – to face the consequences of our own poor choices – and to reap the long lasting reward of good and noble choices. It carries a wonderful message that to be treated unfairly by others can be countered with kindness and love if we chose those actions. I want to see this movie again and want to recommend it to all I know. I learned a lot about a country that I must say I know little about but now what to know more. I have great respect and admiration for the writers and producers of this movie as it dealt with many social injustices and unpleasant but realistic topics that need to be brought to light. I believe it deserves international viewing and worldwide acclaim.