Queen of the Desert

Queen of the Desert

Gertrude Bell is an English writer and archaeologist who became an Arab expert and one of those who helped mark the borders of Iraq. She graduated from Oxford in late Victorian England. Gertrude found the suburban life of aristocrats and the parade of grooms ready to run away with her to the ends of the earth boring. After much persuasion, her father lets Bell go to Tehran, where her uncle is the British ambassador. She falls in love with Henry Cadogan, a con artist and poet. Gertrude Bell immerses herself more and more in Arab culture. But she remains a strong, strong-willed woman who refuses to accept patriarchal views, be it an English drawing room or a Bedouin tent. Read more Filming of the movie "Queen of the Desert" began in December 2013, and took place in Morocco and Jordan. The director and screenwriter was the famous German Werner Herzog. He has more than sixty paintings to his credit. Among them are "Fitzcarraldo" with Klaus Kinski, "Invincible" with Tim Roth, the military drama "Saving Dawn" with Christian Bale, etc. Difficulties and delays in the filming of the picture were related to the composition of the actors. As the director himself admitted, it was not so easy to gather those whom he wanted to see in the film at the same time. The main role was supposed to go to Naomi Watts, but she was replaced by Nicole Kidman. Also, Henry Cadogana could have been played by Jude Law, but he left due to scheduling issues. He was replaced by James Franco. Nicole Kidman called her character the female incarnation of Lawrence of Arabia, who, by the way, was played by Robert Pattinson in the film. Gertrude Bell helped define the borders between Iraq and Jordan, which still exist today. Werner Herzog also wanted to shoot a real sandstorm. Usually, directors avoid this kind of experience, as there may be technical problems with the equipment. In addition to the storm, in the movie "Queen of the Desert" you will also be able to see another very rare phenomenon of nature - snow in the desert.