Film

“Epic” “intimate” “brutal” “riveting” “spellbinding” “spectacular.” The
adjectives come tumbling out of the reviews - but please see this movie for
yourself. Described as an “Arabic Western” and a “coming of age story,” I
suspect that this is one of those rare films that stimulates a unique reaction
in every viewer.

Directed by British-born Jordanian Naji Abu Nowar, the story is set during the
First World War at the time of the Arab Revolt, and, given that it was filmed
in and around Wadi Rum, the instinctive reaction is “ah, Lawrence of Arabia.”
But, other than the location and the historical context, these films have
absolutely nothing in common. “Theeb” is filmed entirely with Bedouin people
for whom this is their first experience of acting; it is their story and, most
of all, it is the story of a young Bedouin boy caught up in a strange and
frightening journey and through whose eyes we perceive the events.

Theeb (“wolf”) is played by Jacir Eid Al-Hwietat. Abu Nowar has commented that
he “never actually liked [Jacir] as an actor as he was so shy and quiet and I
never considered him, but he has this crazy thing that when you put him on
camera he a different person. Immediately it became obvious. And so he was the
first person we cast and we never looked back or at anyone else.” It is indeed
not only this kid’s extraordinary performance but the kid himself that makes
this movie, and, together with Abu Nowar’s unique and sensitive directing
skills, creates an intangible grip on the viewer. And this grip lasts for the
entire film - at the end I could not fathom how one hundred minutes had just
gone by.

Watch the trailer:

In [a fascinating interview](http://www.close-
upfilm.com/2015/08/director-naji-abu-nowar-discusses-making-of-theeb/), Abu
Nowar comments that:

The time in which the film is set is the single most important period in
Middle-Eastern history. That’s when the end of a 400 year empire came to be
and radical redrawing of the map which we are still suffering from today.
With all the issues going on in Iraq, Syria, with the Kurds and the Turks,
Israel and Palestine, Saudi Arabia and the Yemen. All of these issues we
hear about today are a direct result from that single moment in history. So,
it was such a crucial moment and such an existential crisis for the region
and I like the mirror of the character going through a similar sort of
crisis.

and

For myself I wanted to make something that felt authentic to the Bedouin.
And so I tried to listen to them as much as possible and incorporated their
feelings and thoughts as much as I could. All of it was just exciting for
me. I love their poetry. I love their stories and so it was why it comes
about in that way. In no way was I trying to enforce a cinematic
understanding of storytelling onto subject matter, it is really the subject
matter informing it.

And I think that is why is has that feel because it is really genuine.
Sometimes the best thing you can do as a director is to step out of the way
and not put you two cents in and let people do their thing. I do that and I
like getting surprised by what they come up with. That’s the enjoyment of
it. There were things all along the way, for example the sound design adding
little tiny moments here and there that you pick up and generally just
member of the team surprising you. It was a lot of fun.

“Theeb” premiered at the 71st Venice International Film Festival on 4
September 2014, where Abu Nowar won the award for Best Director. It was
nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards,
making it the first Jordanian nomination ever.

Herewith, a selection of reviews: Rotten Tomatoes
(5 stars), [Huff Post](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/e-nina-
rothe/best-of-venice-theeb-take_b_5784074.html), [New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/06/movies/review-
in-theeb-a-bedouin-boys-brutal-coming-of-age.html?_r=1), and [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/aug/13/theeb-
bedouin-western-jordan-naji-abu-nowar). Read them, enjoy them, but please find
this film and watch it.

Originally published at: https://throughthesandglass.typepad.com/through_the_sandglass/film/