Queen of the Desert (film)

Queen of the Desert
File:QOTD poster.jpg Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Werner Herzog
Produced by	Michael Benaroya Mark Burg Cassian Elwes Nick N. Raslan
Screenplay by	Werner Herzog
Starring	Nicole Kidman James Franco Damian Lewis Robert Pattinson
Music by	Klaus Badelt
Cinematography	Peter Zeitlinger
Edited by	Joe Bini
Production companies	Benaroya Pictures Evolution Entertainment H Films Palmyra Films
Distributed by	Atlas Distribution Co.
Release dates	6 February 2015 (2015-02-06) (Berlin) 3 September 2015 (2015-09-03) (Germany)
Running time	128 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$36 million
Box office	$1 million

Queen of the Desert is a 2015 American epic biographical drama film written and directed by Werner Herzog and is based on the life of British traveller, writer, archaeologist, explorer, cartographer and political officer Gertrude Bell. The film follows Bell's life chronologically, from her early twenties till her death. It is Herzog's first feature film in six years after his 2009 film My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?.

The film stars Nicole Kidman, James Franco, Damian Lewis and Robert Pattinson. After going through many delays and casting problems, production finally took place from December 2013 to March 2014 in Morocco, Jordan and England. It was screened in the main competition section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival and had its premiere on 6 February 2015. It had a theatrical release in Germany on 3 September 2015.

Plot

The film chronicles the events of Gertrude Bell's life, a British explorer, traveller, archaeologist and political officer.

Cast

• Nicole Kidman as Gertrude Bell
• James Franco as Henry Cadogan
• Damian Lewis as Charles Doughty-Wylie
• Robert Pattinson as T. E. Lawrence
• Christopher Fulford as Winston Churchill
• Mark Lewis Jones as Frank Lascelles
• Jenny Agutter as Florence Bell
• Holly Earl as Cousin Florence
• Beth Goddard as Aunt Lascelles
• Michael Jenn as R. Campbell Thompson
• Assaad Bouab as Sheikh
• Jay Abdo as Fattouh, Bell's guide
• David Calder as Hugh Bell
• Nick Waring as Mark Sykes
• Sam Kanater as Dulaim
• Sophie Linfield as Judith Doughty-Wylie
• William Ellis as Earl of Chester
• John Wark as Arnold Runcie
• Younes Bouab as King Faycal
• Fehd Benchemsi as Ibrahim
• Ismael Kanater as Dulaim
• Anas Chrifi as Emir

Production

Casting

Main cast and the people they are portraying in the film

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Nicole Kidman

Gertrude Bell

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James Franco

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Henry Cadogan

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Damian Lewis

Charles Doughty-Wylie

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Robert Pattinson

T. E. Lawrence

Talking about casting difficulties and delay in shooting of the film, Herzog said, "There are some actors I’d very much like to be in the film and it’s problematic to get them in the same place at the same time." Naomi Watts was originally cast in the role of Gertrude Bell but was later replaced by Nicole Kidman. Kidman, talking about her role, said, "She's the female Lawrence of Arabia. She was English, and basically defined the borders between Iraq and Jordan that exist today, borders that she negotiated between Churchill and different Arab leaders. She went out to the desert with the Bedouin and all the different tribes that were feuding at the turn of the 20th century." Jude Law was initially cast in the role of Henry Cadogan but later dropped out due to scheduling conflicts and was replaced by James Franco.

Robert Pattinson and Damian Lewis joined the cast of the film as T. E. Lawrence and Charles Doughty-Wylie, respectively. On casting Pattinson in the film, Herzog said that " I needed an englishman who still looks like a schoolboy but which is very smart. He plays Lawrence of Arabia, but at the age of 22, on an archeological site. Kidman, who plays the main role is wondering what that kid has to do in a place like this, and an archeologist tells her that this kid has a PhD." Pattinson talking about portraying T. E. Lawrence, said that "It’s sort of close to the real guy, it’s certainly not [the film] Lawrence of Arabia-like, at the same time the guy was really small and I’m not physically kind of right for the part, but I think I have quite a good little handle of who he is. After I got cast I started researching and there are certain things you can’t do as I’m just not physically the same so I had to invent it a little bit, and it’s a small part as well. The film’s about Gertrude Bell, it’s really not about making Lawrence of Arabia." Nick N. Raslan, one of the producer of the film, also appeared the film in a cameo appearance.

Filming

File:Erg Chebbi.jpeg

Scenes were filmed at Merzouga, Morocco.

Principal photography began on December 20, 2013. Herzog shot background scenes and establishing shots without the principal cast in Merzouga, Morocco and Petra, Jordan. Principal photography with the main cast started in Merzouga on 13 January, 2014. Filming also took place at Marrakesh and Erfoud and continued till 26 February, 2014, in Ouarzazate, Morocco. After Morocco, filming moved to London and finished on 6 March, 2014.

A major portion of filming took place in Morocco. Fifty actors (apart from main cast), more than 1,500 extras and 65 technicians, all Moroccan, participated.

Releases

The film premiered at 65th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2015. It had a theatrical released in Germany on 3 September 2015. A different cut of the film will be screened at AFI Fest in November 2015. Atlas Distribution Co. acquired the US distribution rights of the film and planned to have a wide release in fall 2015.

Promotion and marketing

An official trailer was released on June 13, 2015, followed by a second trailer, released a month later.

Reception

Critical response

The film received mostly negative reviews from critics, but the performances of Kidman, Pattinson, and Lewis were praised. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes currently gives the film a score of 11% based on 19 reviews with an average score of 3.9/10. The critical aggregator website Metacritic currently holds the film at a score of 38 out of 100 based on 6 reviews.

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film two out of five stars by saying that "Werner Herzog’s biopic of English adventurer Gertrude Bell is impeccably mounted, competently made, entirely respectable – and a bit of a plod" and praised Kidman and Pattinson that "she (Kidman) does a perfectly reasonable job with this difficult role and she is well cast" and "Pattinson carried off this (minor) role well enough." Peter Debruge of Variety called the film a "compelling but dramatically underpowered epic" and notes that "Kidman convincingly manages to play Bell as a delicate yet determined twentysomething, forging her way across untamed deserts, but still fragile enough to fall in love on two separate occasions."

David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter called it "A passionless trudge that lacks both sweep and psychological complexity", but ultimately praised Kidman and Pattinson that "(Pattinson has) brief but significant appearances" and "she (Kidman) carries the film more than competently." Jessica Kiang of Indiewire in her review said that ""Queen of the Desert" is such a disappointment when you consider the wild portraits of pioneers that Herzog has given us before, that he's so reverent here." And praising the cast added that "(Pattinson, out all) of the actors not overwhelmed by the heavy sense" and "(Lewis) who handles the role of the married consul, whose amused admiration for Bell flares into love with a deftness that had us palpably relaxing during his scenes."

Mark Adams of Screen International gave the film a mixed review, as he notes that "While enjoyable in parts, its episodic pacing lets down the real-life story of a bold and remarkable woman." Geoffrey Macnab of The Independent said that "This is the closest Herzog has come to making a conventional Hollywood movie – what it lacks is the perversity, drive and wildness that are usually his hallmark."

Accolades

Year	Group/Award	Category	Recipient	Result	Ref.
2015	Berlin International Film Festival	Golden Bear	Werner Herzog	Nominated

See also

• Gertrude Bell
• Lawrence of Arabia (film)

External links

• Official website
• Queen of the Desert at IMDb
• Queen of the Desert at Box Office Mojo
• Queen of the Desert at Rotten Tomatoes
• Queen of the Desert at Metacritic