Nation: Jordan

Screening: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 1 and 1 p.m. Jan. 6 at Palm Springs Regal. 100 minutes

Director: Naji Abu Nowar

Cast: Jacir Eid Al-Hwietat, Hussein Salameh Al-Sweilhiyeen and Hassan Mutlag Al-Maraiyeh

Storyline: Arabia in 1916, a small group of Bedouin nomads, including the young boy Theeb and his brother Hussein, are visited by a British officer, Edward, on a mission to disrupt the Ottoman Hijaz Railway. Hussein agrees to guide the Brit through the "badlands" of the Wadi Rum rocky desert that is infested with bandits. Theeb, seeking adventure, tags along, and eventually becomes the sole survivor of their party, alone in the desert a long way from home.

Scorecard: 9 (out of 10)

Naji Abu Nowar carefully chose Bedouin non-professionals to play all but the British soldier, and workshopped with them for eight months before shooting, resulting in extraordinary performances by Jacir Eid as Theeb (“Wolf” in Arabic), Hussein Salameh as his brother Hussein and especially Hassan Mutlag as The Stranger.

In 1916, the Ottoman Empire is waning after a rule of four centuries. Ottomans are assaulted by revolutionaries of the Great Arab Revolt (1916-1918), which was aided by the British, such as T.E. Lawrence.

Naji Abu Nowar spent a year in the Wadi Rum, Jordan's imposing landscape, living with and learning the customs of nomadic Bedouins. (Wadi Rum is also known as the Valley of the Moon, not to be confused with Northern California's Jack London country of the same name). Bedouin tradition percolates throughout “Theeb” starting from the opening prophetic poem of the boy's father extolling brotherhood, hospitality, caution and courage to the authentic drinking skins the travelers use to gather water from the desert wells.

Influenced by Kurosawa and Sergio Leone, first-time director Abu Nowar sure-handedly sculpts a near-perfect film that portends more great art in the future. “Theeb” can be seen as a cross-genre western, road movie, historical, coming-of-age drama.

Wolfgang Thaler’s luscious widescreen cinematography of desert / canyon vistas and chiaroscuro fire-lit night scenes adds painterly pleasure to the viewing experience. The music by Jerry Lane draws upon Bedouin melodies embellished with Western orchestration.

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