Le Saboteur
Active member
Dardanelles, Turkey, 1916. Gallipoli has ended in a resounding ANZAC defeat, but the Ottoman Turks didn't come through unscathed. With casualties numbering in the hundreds of thousands (estimates range between 200,000-251,000), the "sick man of Europe" is on the verge of collapse. It's treasury spent and military exhausted it would only be a few more years before Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his nationalist army would usher in Republican Turkey following their War of Liberation.
Hejaz Province, Arabia, 1916. Perhaps sensing the inevitable, Sherif Hussein bin Ali instigated what would become known as the Arab Revolt. Initially couched under pan-Arab nationalism that called for creating a unified Arab state stretching from Syria to Yemen, bin Ali would later declare the Turks as "impious" and call on all Arab Muslims to his side in sacred rebellion. For their part, the Turks would accuse the rebels of collaborating against the Caliphate with the imperialistic powers of France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and others who wanted to carve up the Ottoman Empire.
While the exploits of T.E. Lawrence and Faisal dominate this time period and geographic region, it's also a period of great change for the traditionally nomadic Bedouin tribes. Traditionally Bedouin guides would escort pilgrims through the desert on the way to Mecca & Medina, but the Hejaz Railway*, constructed by the Ottomans, would put an end to all of that.
* - Beginning in Damascus, the rail line would eventually terminate in Medina. The events of World War I would see the final link to Mecca go uncompleted.
It's against this backdrop that we meet Theeb, a young Bedouin boy who has never had contact with anybody outside of his tribe until a British officer appears in their camp looking for a guide to a well.
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Jordan's official entry for Academy Award consideration is currently making the rounds at the various art house cinemas across the States. Check your local listings.
While Theeb has all the trappings of the classic desert adventure story, it looks like it goes a step further and deals with mature themes. A very uncommon occurrence for the adventure genre. For that alone, I'll be seeking it out.