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Critics Consensus: Led by an outstanding performance from Jacir Eid Al-Hwietat in the title role, Theeb is a startlingly assured first effort from director/co-writer Naji Abu Nowar.
Critic Consensus: Led by an outstanding performance from Jacir Eid Al-Hwietat in the title role, Theeb is a startlingly assured first effort from director/co-writer Naji Abu Nowar.
All Critics (70) | Top Critics (19) | Fresh (68) | Rotten (2)
An inversion of Lawrence of Arabia -- a film told from the perspective of Arab bedouins rather than colonial adventurers, a scrappy coming of age story rather than a grand tale of epic, colonial ambitions.
The effectiveness of the story hinges largely on Al-Hwietat, whose performance is both convincing wide-eyed and complex.
The burden rests on Eid's shoulders, and he more than carries it. He's a natural, showing us Theeb's curiosity, loyalty and ingenuity while still retaining the innocence of a boy who has been sheltered from the world outside the desert.
First-time director Naji Abu Nowar rehearsed his largely nonprofessional cast for almost a year before shooting began, and as the title character, Jacir Eid beautifully conveys a mix of emotions, from wonder to fear to determination.
The further this strikingly assured debut feature by the British-born director Naji Abu Nowar goes along, the more it seems a metaphor for fierce self-determination - an origin story for Middle Eastern discontents.
A disarmingly complex boyhood adventure with no shortage of tension or harsh beauty, "Theeb" marks a winning debut feature for co-writer and director Naji Abu Nowar.
Nowar makes good use of the Wolfgang Thaler's experienced camera and the open canvas reminds us of the classic western...
Nowar uses the Wadi Rum setting in much the same way as American director John Ford used Monument Valley: as an iconic symbol, but also as such a dominant presence that it takes on the importance of character . . . .
The epic and the intimate combine impressively in Jordanian director Naji Abu Nowar's debut feature Theeb.
Part of what makes Theeb such a breath of fresh air is that it narrows its focus, examining a group of individuals (and one in particular) rather than getting stuck in well-meaning liberal "typicality."
Come for a trip to gorgeous vistas in faraway lands; stay for the character drama
The premise is beautifully executed, with a level of tension and unpredictability that builds and builds until the end.
A tense and powerful debut feature set against the breathtaking vastness of the Jordanian desert and with a deliberate pace, an evocative score and assured performances by its non-professional Bedouins that are proof of Naji Abu Nowar's talent in directing actors.
Super Reviewer
This has its quotas of violence and sentiment, plus landscape shots, but it is nothing special. A film entirely about men, possibly for men, it gives the impression that women did not exist in this world. The boy's cuteness is too trite a device and he does not come of age as suggested in the blurb; rather he is a fortunate and plucky survivor throughout. Mostly well made, it is not though always logical, and is predictable. The camels are interesting.
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