Theeb

I saw this film last night in London at the Curzon Bloomsbury (formerly the Renoir)and was utterly astounded! This is a hauntingly beautiful film shot in a wide-angled camera in Wadi Ram, Jordan, telling the coming of age story of a young Bedouin boy Theeb, accompanying his older bother on a hazardous journey across the dessert, to help a British officer reach a secret destination. The background to the story is the changing way of life in the dessert, during the first world war, following the building of a new railway line that shortened the trip to Mecca from one month on the back of a camel, to one week by train. The new rail line had a devastating effect on the lives of the dessert nomads.

The film is exceptionally beautify, the story is straight forward but gripping, the acting, mostly by non-professionals, is superb. The bright colour of the arid dessert is in sharp contrast to our urban living. This is a striking, memorable film that deserves an Oscar.