Captain Abu Raed

Sometimes, there are films -cinema films, TV films, B-grade films, films that are films but don’t really fit into any of the 3 previously mentioned categories but are still films nonetheless- that have plot holes are wide as a bus and plot lines that look like they’ve been written by the roadrunner in action while high on alcohol, or even plots that go “How did that happen??” but in the end, the grip you. You look past all the mistakes, all the flaws, all the somewhat illogical, improbable, sequences and as the film does that any good film is supposed to do : speak directly into your soul.

Captain Abu Raed, a 2008 Jordanian film is definitely one of these films. It definitely does not have the near-perfection in story telling of Taiwan’s 2008’s Cape No. 7 or the non-stop-action packed sequences Thailand’s 2008 offering Chocolate. There are happenings in the film that are not only improbable (if you really look) but also the uneven pace (mostly slow) and distribution of characters in the film can sometimes be unsettling.

Despite all this, the film is mostly carried by Captain Abu Raed (played by Nadim Sawalha). One can certainly feel the world through his eyes and this makes the imperfections (of the film) somewhat fade away. Not that it fades away entirely. I’m still not too happy with the fact that the character Tareq isn’t given out a proper storyline or that Captain Nour (Rana Sultan) has the habit of popping in and out of the film at irregular intervals.

One of my favourite scenes is the shot at the terrace above Captain Abu Raed’s home. Looking at the aeriel view of Amman with the seemingly endless rows of buildings, I can almost feel the wind blowing through my fair.

Please do watch this film, it’s on Youtube. You’ll never regret it. Despite it’s serious flaws, Captain Abu Raed is certainly very much appealing and that very much deserves a second viewing.