The Growth of Cinema and the Birth of Heroes
Amin Matalqa, director of the Jordanian film Captain Abu Raed, recently spoke with the AFF about the growth and potential of Arab cinema and the need to create more Arab heroes.
When asked about why he wanted to make Abu Raed, Matalqa noted that there were several important reasons, including what he called the “obvious” need to battle stereotypes of Arabs.
“The stereotypes have become old news,” said Matalqa. “It’s a time for Arabs to tell our own story.”
In Captain Abu Raed, Jordan’s official entry into the 2009 Academy Awards competition, Abu Raed is a janitor at the airport who is mistaken for a pilot by the children in his lower-class neighborhood when they see him wearing a discarded captain’s hat.
As Abu Raed gains popularity with the children, he tells them made up stories about his travels around the world, although he has never set foot on an airplane. He gets involved in the lives of two boys, one who is kept out of school by his father and the other a victim of abuse from his father, and tries to help both.
Abu Raed is the story of an average man who tries his best to be the hero and make a difference in the world, Matalqa said.
“We need more heroes—there is a huge lack of that,” said Matalqa, in regards to characters in Arab film history.
Captain Abu Raed’s humanity and humor have allowed it to successfully cross borders and translate to a variety of cultures across the globe.
Matalqa tells a story where, after a screening of Captain Abu Raed, a young Russian woman came to him and said that Abu Raed could have easily been a Russian character.
Matalqa has even given permission for an Indian remake of his film to be made.
Many critics have noted that Matalqa’s protagonist in Captain Abu Raed is a surprisingly humanistic character that experiences universal feelings of insecurity and compassion. Furthermore, critics have dwelled on the fact that Captain Abu Raed is devoid of any political undertones, something that has become synonymous with Arab art and culture according to Western perceptions.
“It was a very conscious decision to leave out politics,” said Matalqa. “I’m not interested in politics.”
When asked to define Jordanian cinema, Matalqa said it is “passionate, enthusiastic and young.”
Matalqa says he was pleased to see the amount of enthusiasm towards cinema in Jordan displayed by both the government and the Jordanian people.
The crew for Captain Abu Raed was a mix of American and Jordanian workers. Matalqa brought all of his department heads from Los Angeles in hopes that they could teach the local crew and share their experiences.
A unique element of Jordanian cinema is its lack of precedent, something Matalqa described as both a blessing and a challenge. On one hand, there is no expectation of Jordanian films, and so Captain Abu Raed was allowed to make a name for itself without any preceding judgments or stereotype concerning Jordanian cinema. On the other hand, there is also little to drive people to the theaters to watch a Jordanian film when they have no experience with that part of the world.
However, Matalqa hopes that the filmgoers who have been exposed to Captain Abu Raed will have gained a new interest in Arab and Jordanian cinema, and he believes they will not be let down.
“I hope we continue to see more movies [from Jordan] and prove that [this success] is not a fluke.”
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