The Vernon Film Society is showing the movie Theeb Monday, Feb. 1.
This Middle Eastern production, filmed in the stunning landscape of Wadi Rum in Jordan, is Naji Abu Nowar’s feature-length debut as a director. The director of short film, Death of a Boxer, Nowar also wrote the script for Theeb.
Although born in Britain, Nowar’s father is Jordanian and he has lived in the country most of his life.
He lived amongst the Bedouin for many months, learning of their way of life, habits and getting to know them enough that some agreed to spend time acting in this movie.
All the Bedouin characters in the movie are actual Bedouin tribesmen.
Theeb has been described as the first Bedouin western with its tale of a young boy battling enemies and the elements in the desert.
The title character, played by Jacir Eid Al-Hwietat, is being brought up by his brother Hussein (Hussein Salameh Al-Sweilhiyeen) after the death of their father. They live with other members of their tribe when a British Army officer and a companion come to their camp asking for help in finding a route through the desert.
This is during the First World War when the Ottoman troops were fighting the British along with Arab revolutionaries and outcast Bedouin raiders.
Theeb is supposed to stay home, but secretly chases after his brother and becomes involved in the fighting and subsequently has to save himself.
Theeb takes place at the same time as Lawrence of Arabia and like the famed David Lean film gives a glimpse into a world few have seen and have only a vague knowledge about.
Filmed against the stunning backdrop of the desert, the movie is a great escape from the dark days of winter.
The Los Angeles Times wrote that Theeb is “a disarmingly complex boyhood adventure with no shortage of tension or harsh beauty.”
The film will be shown at the Vernon Towne Cinema Monday, Feb. 1 at 5:15 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. Tickets are $7 (cash only) available at the Bean Scene and the theatre one week ahead.
The film is rated PG for violence and is in Arabic with English subtitles.