Nicole Kidman sets off to the deserts of the Middle East for her latest flick, "Queen of the Desert."
The trailer for the film, which was released earlier this week, immediately reminds the thoughtful viewer of the classic 1962 Hollywood film "Lawrence of Arabia." In fact, the story focuses on British secret service operative Gertrude Bell and from the trailer, it seems she might even have a flirty encounter with T. E. Lawrence aka "Lawrence of Arabia" played by heart-throb Robert Pattinson.
Filmed largely in Morocco and Jordan, it was written and directed by Werner Herzog and also stars James Franco.
Luckily, the film does include some actual Arab actors, something not always the norm in Hollywood productions focusing on the region. Syrian-American actor Jay Abdo and Moroccan actor Assaad Bouab both have roles in the film. However, as most of the main characters from the story are British, the majority of the prominent characters are played by Westerners.
According to the film's synopsis, Bell "played a decisive role around 1920 in setting the course for the new political order in the Middle East."
Sounds like it might be a little Orientalist, no? I guess we should wait to see it before we judge too harshly. But, since the historical Bell has previously been dubbed as the "Female Lawrence of Arabia," we're not holding our breath.
Apparently the film follows Bell on her explorations of the Middle East as she meets leaders and dignitaries from the region following a failed romance back home. From the trailer, it looks like she might find some romantic encounters in the desert along the way as well.
The film was screened at the Berlin International Festival last year and is expected to hit cinemas in North America later this year. So far, critics haven't been terribly impressed with the film, although they have generally given a positive nod to the acting. When you have a star-studded cast including these celebrities, at least the acting should be on point.
We're waiting to formulate our own opinion once the full film is released. For now, we're not quite ready to crown a British woman as "Queen of the Desert" regardless of how much influence she may have had.