Theeb

I went to the cinema for the first time in ages last weekend to see an Arabic-language film called Theeb. Set during the 1916 Arab Revolt in the Ottoman province of Hijaz (now part of Saudi Arabia), it is, frankly, not the sort of film I would naturally be drawn to.

However, it came highly recommended by a Twitter contact, the travel writer and Middle East specialist Matthew Teller, and I am very glad I went. It’s a slow, tense, minimalist film, in whichthe widercontextbeyond the narrow horiz...