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| Queen Of The Desert - 2017 |
For the past little while, I have been obsessed with desert films. This has been reflected to some extent in my posts the past couple of weeks. So, today's offering is 2017's "Queen Of The Desert", the story of Gertrude Bell and how she became such a presence on the Middle Eastern scene. Though it was released in some markets in 2015, it was not until two years later that it became available for a limited release in my country.
The film's cast includes Nicole Kidman, James Franco, Robert Pattinson, Damian Lewis, Jay Abdo, David Calder, Christopher Fulford, Nick Waring, Ayoub Layoussifi, and Younes Bouab.
The demise of the Ottoman Empire is imminent because of the First World War. World powers are scrambling to see how the area will be divided and what the balance of power will be. The only person with enough knowledge to help them make informed decisions is sent for. A woman named Gertrude Bell.
Twelve years earlier, we find Gertrude in England. She's feeling stifled by the strictures placed upon her by society and yearns to be free. She begs her parents to send her to India or the Middle East.
Tehran is chosen. Once there, Gertrude makes the acquaintance of an embassy secretary named Henry Cadogan. The attraction is instant for both.
Gertrude writes letters home to England. In them, she mentions how she is enjoying her time and how helpful Henry Cadogan has been.
The two of them take every opportunity to explore the surrounding desert area. Henry shows her some of his favorite places. They fall madly in love with one another.
Henry proposes, and Gertrude instantly accepts. Before they can marry, she must first write to her father and request his permission.
That permission is denied them. Gertrude makes the decision to return to England to plead their case in person before her father.
Back at home, Gertrude pleads with her father to allow the marriage. However, Hugh Bell says that Henry is a gambler, and he won't allow his daughter to ally herself with him.
While in England, word comes that Henry has committed suicide in desperation. Gertrude is inconsolable.
She stays on at the family home, writing poetry to help her in her grief.
Three years later, we find that Gertrude is back in the Middle East and has been traveling extensively. "For the first time in
my life, I know who I am. My heart belongs to no one now but the
desert," she says.
She informs the consul in Amman that she is headed into territory that is overseen by the Turkish government. They are upset but powerless to stop her. It is her wish to study the desert and its peoples.
She travels far and wide, taking photographs and writing about what she's seen, confiding in her diary, and composing poetry.
At times the going is extremely difficult. She and her escorts must walk over packed salt, which is like broken porcelain. However, the desert shows her some extraordinary things the likes of which she could never imagine. "The deeper I penetrate this mysterious labyrinth, the more I become known to myself," Gertrude observes.
At the ancient city of Petra, Gertrude makes the acquaintance of T.E. Lawrence, the fabled "Lawrence of Arabia".
Through her travels, she continues to let officials know what she's up to, including a visit to a place where no one has traveled in decades.
Some of her experiences are extremely perilous. Somehow, though, Gertrude manages to smooth any ruffled feathers and gains the trust of the Bedouin peoples that she meets.
Another of her planned expeditions is to a place where no outsider has been since the 1850s. Officials don't like it when she disregards their warnings.
Eventually, the government realizes how valuable her wealth of knowledge is. They ask that she be a spy in these places where no one else has gone. Gertrude refuses, saying that she only spies for herself.
Gertrude continues learning all she can about the Bedouins and their ways. However, she finds the travel can be a bit lonely. "When we are on the
move, I feel everything is behind us.
Only our shadows follow as if to
remind us of our past lives," she confides to a diary.
By the time her travels in the desert are done, she is highly respected by all of the Bedouin tribes and treated as one of them, because she understands them.
After the war, Gertrude, along with T.E. Lawrence, help the Middle East shake off the bonds of the old Ottoman Empire and forge their identities as independent nations.
Because of her contacts and the information about all the tribes that she has, Gertrude is consulted about who the best rulers would be. Based on her recommendations, two brothers are chosen as future kings. She tells them that they will be kings over the people she loves.
As they watch her go, the future King of Iraq asks, "How could she know that we will be kings?" His brother, the future King of Jordan, responds, "She is the maker of kings. She is the uncrowned queen of the desert."
Cast rundown:
Nicole Kidman..................................Gertrude Bell
James Franco...................................Henry Cadogan
Robert Pattinson...............................T.E. Lawrence
Damian Lewis...................................Richard Wylie
Jay Abdo.........................................Fattuh
David Calder.....................................Hugh Bell
Christopher Fulford...........................Winston Churchill
Nick Waring......................................Sir Mark Sykes
Ayoub Layoussifi...............................King Abdullah
Younes Bouab...................................King Faisal
And that's it for Queen Of The Desert. The breathtaking cinematography and the hauntingly beautiful music make for a rich movie-watching experience. Nicole Kidman appears in every scene except for the opening sequence. After filming wrapped up, Kidman hosted an end of filming party in Morocco, to which the entire cast and crew were invited.
