A welcome addition to the current film landscape, this Jordanian production provides a beautiful insight into WW1-era Bedouin culture and the stunning vistas of southern Jordan.
Set in western Arabia in 1916, using mostly non-professional Bedouins, Theeb (meaning “wolf”) tells the story of two brothers Hussein (Hussein Salameh) and Theeb (Jacir Eid) from a family of pilgrim guides, who live a traditional Bedouin life. Their days are spent in the beguiling ritual of nomadic life, with Hussein, the elder brother teaching Theeb the skills and practices of surviving the environs of the Arabian Desert.
One evening a British soldier and his Arab escort Marji appear out of the blackness of the desert and, ask to be guided to a well near the Ottoman train tracks. The rules of Bedouin hospitality demand that the guests be treated with kindness and respect, and Hussein agrees to guide the strangers to the well. But, as the journey unfolds, Hussein soon realises there is more to the soldier’s plans than first disclosed.
Naji Abu Nowar’s impressive debut (winner of best director in Venice’s Horizons section) is a heart-warming journey centred on fraternal relationships, with an underlying commentary on the historical context. Set during a time of radical industrial change, the film subtly observes the challenges to the traditional Bedouin lifestyle and how pilgrim guides were made redundant by the ‘iron donkey’ carrying people to Mecca.
One of the most enduring aspects of the film is the powerful onscreen presence of the two young actors, and their palpable affection for each other (conveyed by real-life cousins Eid and Salameh). The truly stunning scenery, shot by Ulrich Seidl’s frequent collaborator Wolfgang Thaler, comes a very close second.