Directed by Naji Abu Nowar | Jordan/UK/United Arab Emirates/Qatar | Arabic w/ English subtitles | 2015 | Fiction | 96 mins
New Directors/ New Films; Best Director, Venice
Film source: Film Movement
Fans of David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia might recognize the World War I-era clash of the British and Ottoman empires amidst the windswept desert landscapes of the Arabian Peninsula, but the taut narrative and unadorned action of Theeb more closely resemble the barebones Westerns of Budd Boetticher and Anthony Mann than the epic leanings of Lean. Set in the Hijaz region of present-day Saudi Arabia, Theeb (meaning “wolf” in Arabic) focuses on a Bedouin boy who tags along with his brother on an ill-fated journey to guide a British solider to a strategically situated water well. But unlike George Stevens’ archetypal Western Shane – told through the merely observant eyes of a hero-worshipping boy during the late 19th century Wyoming range wars – an ironic twist of fate turns the young Bedouin protagonist of Theeb into a reluctant hero in director Naji Abu Nowar’s beautifully shot and morally ambivalent feature debut. Theeb is Jordan’s official submission to the Oscars this year.