Berlinale 2015: Queen of the Desert

Directors: Werner Herzog
Cast: Nicole Kidman, James Franco, Damian Lewis
Length: 128 minutes
Country: USA

Infamously, there are no female talking parts for women in Lawrence of Arabia. Now there is a great desert epic with a woman in the lead. Queen of the Desert tells the story of Getrude Bell (Nicole Kidman), an intrepid explorer dubbed “The Maker of Kings” for her pivotal role in shaping modern Iraq and Jordan. Nicole Kidman gives one of her greatest performances in bringing this incredible woman to life.

Born into a privileged family, and majoring with honours from Oxford, Getrude soon grows tired of her already-written role in life. The men are boring, she has nothing to do, and longs to go somewhere exotic and far away. So she decides to create her own destiny, and moves to Tehran, where she instantly falls in love with the desert. The cinematography here, in its precise framing and clarity of image, makes the desert into another character, expertly working as both backdrop and metaphor for Getrude’s contrasting emotions. In the embassy she meets Henry Cadogan (James Franco) and their subsequent love affair is handled in a tasteful and sensual way. Whilst sadly not reaching the emotional love-in-the-desert heights of The English Patient, it provides the emotional inspiration for Bell’s extraordinary journey, as she seeks to explore the uncharted terrain of the Bedouin landscape.

Queen of the Desert has all of Herzog’s trademarks, but is unlike any Herzog film made before, especially with its female lead and romantic elements, showing his uncanny ability to change and innovate as a director.

Coming during a time when Islam is vilified in the media, Queen of the Desert is a refreshing look at the dignity of Islamic culture. Many of the sheiks – not played by white men unlike Lawrence of Arabia– are seen to be well-read and warm people. Arguably the film can be said to suffer from “a  white saviour” complex, but this interpretation is belied by its actual historical background, and the sympathetic supporting cast. Bar her father, there are no real enemies here, only the ever-present patriarchal structure of society which Getrude manages to defy so brilliantly. Both the appreciation of other cultures and seeing a woman from that era define her life on her own terms is a delight to watch.

Werner Herzog tells unlikely stories, featuring stubborn characters facing the most adverse of conditions. He likes to film in the place itself – for example, the sandstorm scene was filmed in an actual sandstorm – lending them great authenticity. There is also a wonderful scene with snow covering the desert, something I’ve never seen in this type of film before. It reminded me at times of The Searchers, by the way it takes an old genre and reinvigorates it through cinematography and location. Everything in the production takes the film above any biopic I’ve seen in recent years; from the evocative score to the elegant movement of both camera and crowds, this film tells its story with a cinematic sophistication sorely lacking in the biopic genre.

Queen of the Desert has all of Herzog’s trademarks, but is unlike any Herzog film made before, especially with its female lead and romantic elements, showing his uncanny ability to change and innovate as a director. In the press interview Herzog said he wasn’t telling history, but telling a story. I think history will remember this story for years to come.

Image source: berlinale.de