That's A Wrap (Queen Of The Desert)

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As with Snow Dogs, I went into this one blind. With a title like Queen Of The Desert I picture some piece of fiction where a beautiful girl gets married off to some royal for political purpose and becomes much beloved for some reason. I think I have watched too many historical chinese royal drama's. 😁

Boy was I wrong. This is not only based on a true story but it was about what Gertrude Bell (played by Nicole Kidman) did in, and for the middle east around the time of world war I and the fall of the ottoman empire.

There is minimum action in this movie and all the reviews I have viewed do not give this film a favorable rating. It is a good movie though so if you want the short and dirty of her life this is worth watching.

The only thing I did not like was the way her love interests were introduced as such. The first being Henry Cadogan, the third secretary of the embassy.

After what appears to be the first horse ride after Bell's arrival in Tehran, her cousin Florence tells her that she has a "passion" for henry. Then just a few scenes later she is no longer addressing him as Mr. Cadogan but Henry and within a few more scenes they are holding hands and then kissing.

Regardless of whether it was a friend or family member, if someone tells you they are interested in someone, it seems a bit inappropriate, to me, to behave in this way. In the end her father rejects the proposal due to Henry's gambling debt.

The second relationship is three years later, with a man name Richard Wylie. He is a married man and he makes a move on her. She rebuff's him saying she is still in mourning for a lost love but then proceeds to write him while traveling the desert.

I am unsure of the truth behind this relationship because in the movie Richard promises to divorce his wife so he can be with Gertrude but from what I have read online she wanted him to leave his wife.

All in all I think the best parts of the movie are when she is traveling the desert and meeting with the different tribes. One of my favorite scenes is where she is given four camel saddles just for being the honored guest of one of the sheiks.

It also dawned on me she bares a similarity to the Daenerys character created by George R. R. Martin.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the movie if you watch it. Feedbeck is greatly appreciated.

Posted using CineTV