Queen of the Desert

24 September 2018

Queen of the Desert 2015

• Director: Werner Hertzog
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Nicole Kidman, James Franco, Robert Pattinson, Damian Lewis, Jenny Agutter, David Calder,
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Nicole Kidman – Genius, Strangerland, Before I Go to Sleep, The Railroad Man, Rabbit Hole, Nine, Australia, Margo at the Wedding, Fur, The Interpreter, Birth, Cold Mountain, The Human Stain, Dogville, The Hours, Birthday Girl, The Others, Moulin Rouge, Eyes Wide Shut, Practical Magic, Batman Forever, Billy Bathgate
• James Franco – 127 Hours, Milk, The Dead Girl
• Robert Pattinson – Remember Me, Twilight, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Damien Lewis – Wolf Hall, Much Ado about Nothing Re-Told, A Touch of Frost
• Jenny Agutter – Love’s Labour’s Lost, An American Werewolf in London
• Why? Nicole Kidman, the camels
• Seen: 22 September 2018      

       Adventurous, intelligent Gertrude Bell is being suffocated in her family’s aristocratic society and is relieved when her father sends her to the British embassy in Teheran. She falls in love with the country and with the embassy’s third secretary Henry. The affair ends tragically, and she devotes her life to studying archaeology and the Bedouins and learning to live in the desert. The British officials forbid all of this but she ignores them and off she goes with her camels and loyal Arab companions.

       I know they’re irascible nasty beasts, but I love camels (have never met one in real life). The landscapes and ancient ruins in the movie are magnificent. The history is interesting. The Ottoman Empire is collapsing, and the British Empire is eager to fill the power vacuum by fair means or foul. But the British Empire is collapsing too, and the Arab nations are on the rise. The political acumen and sensitive diplomacy of the intrepid Gertrude are instrumental in creating nations and kings.

       It’s quite fascinating.

4 * of 5