Film ReviewsTheeb: the wolf in the desert
Mar 3, 2016 Anchorage Press
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Naji Abu Nowar's Theeb conjures a spirit that lives deep in the folds of the Arabian Desert, reaching back to the time of the Great Arab Revolt of 1916 against the weakening Ottoman Empire. The revolt was fueled by the interventionist British colonial power in part through the person of Thomas Edward Lawrence. Lawrence was an emissary sent to join the Great Arab Revolt-led by Prince Feisal-who fueled the revolt and helped sustain it by providing money (including his own), and guns. Optimizing tactical measures to manage the tribal conflicts, Lawrence used guerrilla tactics to attack the Turkish lines of communication, including repeated attacks to the "iron donkey," the Hejaz Railroad that extended from Istanbul to Mecca. The military tactics avoided major, direct confrontation since the Ottoman Empire was better armed and equipped. The 1916 revolt changed history and the political power of the region forever; the bloody paradigm shift was a far cry from the Arab Spring that ignited in Tunisia and spread across Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, like wildfire in 2010 and 2011.
Viewers will likely remember the cinematic classic which tells the story of the Great Arab Revolt by recounting the story of Lawrence himself; the 1962 film classic stars Peter O'Toole as the frolicking Lawrence of Arabia, who comes undone as the film progresses, paralleling the political situation. The classic is worth seeing, but it romanticizes the historical event to make it an action-packed, epic production; Theeb on the other hand tells the story from a completely different vantage point, from that of the title character, Theeb, played by Jacir Eid Al-Hwietat, like many in Hejaz (present day Saudi Arabia) at that time, he's a Bedouin, or nomad.
Theeb follows his brother on a mission to guide a British soldier, and undergoes a metamorphosis to become true to his nature and his deeply rooted tribal and brotherly identity. Theeb's journey is intensely quiet, delivering a landscape that is as beautiful as it is harsh. The events that unfold that would break anyone lacking in wolf-like resolve, and it's no accident that "Theeb" means "Wolf." Abu Nowar builds on deeply rooted cultural concepts arising from an environmental ethics such as the law of Dakheel. Dakheel is a Bedouin law, ruling that if a stranger arrives at one's tent requesting refuge, one must grant him protection until the threat can be peacefully resolved, even if this stranger is an enemy. Theeb tells the story of the region's history and World War I from a Bedouin perspective, honoring traditions and also providing a context for how diverse and separate Arab tribes were in 1916 and how isolated they were just before the outbreak of World War. The premise is beautifully executed, with a level of tension and unpredictability that builds and builds until the end. Unlike the technological accessibility that was a catalyst for the Arab Spring, tribes in the Arabian Peninsula were isolated and remote, even from one another. Theeb speculates on what it must have been like to be impacted by a war one didn't know was taking place.
Theeb is an amazing accomplishment; it's no surprise that it was nominated for both and Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and a BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Abu Nowar won the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer, and the Orizzonti Award for Best Director. In order to make Theeb, the Bristish-Jordanian director lived with a Bedouin tribe in Southern Jordan for a year. This tribe was one of the last to be settled and many of the men in the tribe had grown up as nomads; casting exclusively from this tribe makes Theeb as truthful to the story as possible. All the actors are amateurs, leveraging the Bedouin dialect and experience makes Theeb emotionally compelling, and a bit nostalgic for a time before the World Wars, where conflicts, albeit, just as bloody and harsh, could be contained.
Theeb shows at Bear Tooth on Monday, March 7 at 5:30 p.m.
Viewers will likely remember the cinematic classic which tells the story of the Great Arab Revolt by recounting the story of Lawrence himself; the 1962 film classic stars Peter O'Toole as the frolicking Lawrence of Arabia, who comes undone as the film progresses, paralleling the political situation. The classic is worth seeing, but it romanticizes the historical event to make it an action-packed, epic production; Theeb on the other hand tells the story from a completely different vantage point, from that of the title character, Theeb, played by Jacir Eid Al-Hwietat, like many in Hejaz (present day Saudi Arabia) at that time, he's a Bedouin, or nomad.
Theeb follows his brother on a mission to guide a British soldier, and undergoes a metamorphosis to become true to his nature and his deeply rooted tribal and brotherly identity. Theeb's journey is intensely quiet, delivering a landscape that is as beautiful as it is harsh. The events that unfold that would break anyone lacking in wolf-like resolve, and it's no accident that "Theeb" means "Wolf." Abu Nowar builds on deeply rooted cultural concepts arising from an environmental ethics such as the law of Dakheel. Dakheel is a Bedouin law, ruling that if a stranger arrives at one's tent requesting refuge, one must grant him protection until the threat can be peacefully resolved, even if this stranger is an enemy. Theeb tells the story of the region's history and World War I from a Bedouin perspective, honoring traditions and also providing a context for how diverse and separate Arab tribes were in 1916 and how isolated they were just before the outbreak of World War. The premise is beautifully executed, with a level of tension and unpredictability that builds and builds until the end. Unlike the technological accessibility that was a catalyst for the Arab Spring, tribes in the Arabian Peninsula were isolated and remote, even from one another. Theeb speculates on what it must have been like to be impacted by a war one didn't know was taking place.
Theeb is an amazing accomplishment; it's no surprise that it was nominated for both and Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and a BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Abu Nowar won the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer, and the Orizzonti Award for Best Director. In order to make Theeb, the Bristish-Jordanian director lived with a Bedouin tribe in Southern Jordan for a year. This tribe was one of the last to be settled and many of the men in the tribe had grown up as nomads; casting exclusively from this tribe makes Theeb as truthful to the story as possible. All the actors are amateurs, leveraging the Bedouin dialect and experience makes Theeb emotionally compelling, and a bit nostalgic for a time before the World Wars, where conflicts, albeit, just as bloody and harsh, could be contained.
Theeb shows at Bear Tooth on Monday, March 7 at 5:30 p.m.