Rotten
Great taste isn't quite the same as great filmmaking, and director Matalqa sometimes lapses into broad humour and even broader melodrama in this generally low-key, wistful tale.
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
Overview
Abu Raed is an old airport janitor who has always yearned to travel the world but has never been able to afford it. One day, he finds an old discarded pilot's hat, and discovers a calling: a group of children in his poor neighborhood assume he's an airline captain and beg him to share stories of the world outside of Amman, Jordan. Through imaginary tales, a friendship forms, and Abu Raed is soon faced with the grim realities of the children's home life. Thus he takes it upon himself to make a difference in their lives.
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
76%
Tomatometer
Fresh
A sweet-tempered tale about the power of fantasy and storytelling becomes a starker parable about human connection and personal sacrifice.
Jason Anderson, Toronto Star
Rotten
Gentle, humanistic and suffocatingly sentimental.
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Rotten
Writer-director Amin Matalqa's debut affirms life, plucks heartstrings, and knows no shame.
Mark Feeney, Boston Globe
Fresh
His journey makes for a complex film that goes beyond the obvious. It, too, travels. And it travels well.
Tom Long, Detroit News
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