Original subtitles

- Assuming the Ottoman Empire finally becomes defunct,

Russia would get the Dardanelles,

the portion closest to them,

and the Italians, the islands off the mainland.

- And the French had no problem with that?

- But the French had problems with everything.

That is their nature.

Oh, yes.

And the big pieces?

- Oh, once I conceded control over Syria and Lebanon

to them it got easier.

Let us read your mind.

- Mr. Churchill, do you really want Lebanon

for the British Empire?

It's a mess grown in 1,000 years

that no one will ever disentangle.

And Syria might pose an even bigger problem.

Sunni, Shiite, Alawites, Druze, Christians,

all at each other's throats.

And up north, the Kurds.

Let the French deal with the Kurds.

Or let the French tryto deal with the Kurds.

And let them fail.

- I know where all your intelligence comes from.

Are you trying to say...

from the woman?

From that woman?

- Petty rivalries only after cocktails.

[Scoffs]

Now, to us.

Zone B -- our area of influence.

I wrestle from the French Baghdad, Bazra, Kuwait.

This will now be under our direct control.

- And how do we delineate the borders?

- That will fall in place later. - No.

This is the moment.

It has to be now.

Well, uh...

Our issues start down here, in the south.

Now it's just a vague dotted line.

We have a problem with Ibn Saud.

The scoundrel.

In fact, we have two problems.

Firstly, he wants the whole of Arabia

as a separate country for himself.

- The bastard. - Uh [sighs] secondly,

he wants a flexible border.

One of his tribes moving north for the summer pastures.

There are no bloody pastures.

There's only sand.

And he wants a border...

according to the movement of people, not territory.

East is not fly.

Who knows best about tribes?

Lineages, affiliations, rivalries.

Who knows best about Bedouin tribes?

And who is going to rule over all of this?

We are talking to potential future kings.

Who knows the candidates?

Who knows them best?

♪♪

The woman.

Gertrude.

Gertrude who?

Gertrude Bell.

A silly bitch.

It's a chattering windbag of conceited,

gushing, heavy-chested man-woman,

a globe-trotting, rump-wagging, blethering ass.

♪♪

Gertrude.

- Gertrude, look at me. - Mother, don't.

- What? - Don't tell me how to behave.

- I'm afraid I'm going to, anyway.

- You will smile. - Yes, mother.

- You will not...scare the young men with your intelligence.

- How do I do that? I cannot play dumb.

- Just listen to what they have to say and smile.

That will be hard.

- Gertrude... - I love it.

♪♪

I love it. I love it.

♪♪

[Indistinct conversations]

♪♪

And then?

- You mean after the lion? - Yes.

- Well, then I shot an elephant. - Ah.

And all of this was in the south of Sudan?

- No, my hunting party had moved to Kenya by then.

- Oh. - God, was that a safari.

- I would guess you didn't shoot just one elephant.

- First a rhino... - Mm-hmm.

- ...then a lion... - Mm.

...and then two elephant bulls.

- Are there any elephants left in Africa?

You meaning what, young lady?

[Women laugh, talk indistinctly]

♪♪

Gertrude...

I would love to elope with you.

Where to?

Paris, India? [Chuckles] The pyramids?

Out there, there's a barn.

♪♪

You mean hay?

- Nobody would notice if we left for a few minutes.

You mean for fornication.

Quick and straight forward?

- Absolutely. - [Scoffs]

- Like the cattle in the field? - Absolutely.

- Arnold Runcie, I barely know you,

- but you seem to like cows. - Absolutely.

How many do you have?

- Near Newcastle, I have 800 Herefordshire.

Up north, in Scotland, 2,000.

- Angus? - Angus.

Yes.

Black, Angus.

♪♪

- Miss Bell, thank you for the honor.

Over here, Mr. Havenhurst.

Over here to your left.

I'm so sorry.

So sorry.

[Sighs]

Dear God.

Send me an earthquake, please.

[Sighs]

I can't take it. I can't take it any longer.

I feel so domesticated.

I-It's stifling to me.

- Oh, Gertrude, what am I supposed to say?

I can say it.

We should never have allowed you to go to Oxford.

- But, dear, she's one of only four women to study history

and to graduate with the highest honors.

- A young, unmarried woman from a good family should not --

- Should not be allowed out on the street without a chaperone.

- Gertrude, will you please sit down?

- No, no, I don't want to sit down.

- Ugh, darling, darling, darling, I have always supported you.

I've watched you climb sharp, high rocks.

- But let us not forget the string of nannies

who quit because of your willfulness.

Ah, well, so what?

- Do you remember that time when you climbed

that tall beech tree in the park?

And you had a very large lamp shade on your back.

- [Chuckles] Yes, I remember that.

Yes, you were only 5,

and you were already reading voraciously.

And somebody stupidly showed you Leonardo da Vinci's sketchbook.

- I remember the one with the parachute.

- Who ever would need a parachute?

- Everyone. Everyone needs a parachute.

- Well, it probably hurt me more than you

when you broke your ankle.

Ugh, though I don't like to think about it.

It hurts me even today.

Get me out of here, please.

Please, please, get me out of here.

India, Arabia, anywhere.

Please.

♪♪

You know...

however how much it hurts me when you're not around

[sighs] we are going to have to get you out of here.

Where?

What about Tehran?

The embassy.

♪♪

- I'm going to introduce Gertrude now, Mary.

It's introduction time.

Gertrude, may I use your glass for a moment? Thank you.

[Glass clinking] Excellencies. Here you go.

Ladies and gentlemen, come forward.

Come forward. Thank you.

I'd like to introduce Gertrude Lowthian Bell to you.

She is a brilliant young scholar...

- Oh. - ...and I am blessed

to call her my niece.

She is actually the daughter of my wife Mary's sister,

and we love her.

And I'm sure you all, will make her stay with us

a wonderful experience.

As to the return of my dear wife, boys,

the wild life is over. [Laughter]

No more riding on horseback into our dining room.

No more drunken orgies on our well-groomed British lawn.

[Laughter]

No more rescues of damsels in distress.

And no more public display of the wildest irreverence

towards our beloved Queen Victoria,

who, I think needs to spend time here,

to wean her from her grand design of a prudish empire.

[Laughter]

- To the British Empire! - To the British Empire!

- And to Persia, the country, of 5,000 years of poetry.

Why is my glass empty?

Where is the champagne?

♪♪

[Laughter and applause]

♪♪

Ah.

The scents.

I can't believe it.

[Sighs]

- And the birds. - Nightingale.

When I cry at night into my pillow,

she always makes me feel happy.

- She? Um, I think it's only the males that sing.

- Oh, don't spoil it. - I'm sorry, Flo...

- Hello. - [Chuckles]

- I'm Henry Cadogan. I am --

- Henry is the secretary of the Embassy.

- Actually, I'm only the third secretary.

Miss Bell, I welcome you to the embassy

of Her Majesty the Queen.

A prudish majesty.

[Chuckles]

- I have been officially assigned

to be your guardian and to entertain you,

so if there's anything you need at all, please let me know.

I will do that.

♪♪

[Indistinct conversations]

♪♪

Henry.

Oh, Henry, please show us your trick shots.

- Florence, the table isn't even free. It's...

- Please. Please, please, please.

- No, I'm not a circus performer. - [Chuckles]

- He has two unbelievable trick shots.

Show us your "Orbit of the Moon."

Florence, it's embarrassing.

- What's your second trick shot? - The "Frog Leap."

- Mm. Henry, show us your card trick.

He has the greatest of card tricks.

- Really? - Please.

- Florence, it's a silly trick.

No.

♪♪

Come, come.

♪♪

- Miss Bell, may I suggest at the residency,

you put your bed out on the roof under the sky.

I do love the stars at night.

- Although, I'll have to put out mosquito netting for you.

Ugh, the mosquitoes are awful.

- Miss Lascelle, are we not boring you?

No.

Oh, no, no, no, no.

Florence.

Florence, will you please come over?

Now?

- The new Italian ambassador has a present for you.

- Henry, I shall come right back.

- [Chuckles] - Alright.

[Sighs]

It's like "The Beast's Garden."

[Sighs]

It's a perfect nightmare of flowers and scents.

- Mm-hmm. - [Sighs]

♪♪

[Gasps]

Mr. Cadogan, do you by any chance,

know what this inscription says?

Yes.

It's in Farsi, but a medieval form of it.

♪♪

Can you read it?

Mm.

"With them, the seed of wisdom did I sow,

and with my own hand, labored it to grow."

- "And this was all the harvest that I reaped.

I came like water, and like wind I go."

Miss Bell, you know poetry?

- You know Omar Khayyam. - Yes, I do.

♪♪

I want to learn his language.

♪♪

Mother dearest, I am using the opportunity to send you this

with today's diplomatic pouch.

My first week has been most precious

and I have started to learn Farsi

in order to read the poets in their original.

♪♪

Mr. Cadogan, who works at the embassy,

is very helpful in this.

He is agreeable, intelligent, well-read, looking after us,

Florence and me, as his special property.

I like him.

He's invited us to ride with him today.

♪♪

- But, Henry, you can't ride. - Yes, I can.

- What if you fall? - It happens to the best.

- You will get hurt. I don't like you to ride.

- Why don't you join us? - I'm afraid of horses.

- Ah. - [Chuckles]

Bye.

♪♪

- [Sighs] - Miss Bell,

this is my favorite place in all of the countryside.

After the winter, when the water level's very high, the shepherds

swim their flocks down here for the summer pasture.

Sometimes there are thousands of sheep,

and the shepherds swim among them

on these inflated goat skins.

- Yes, I've seen that. - Have you?

- In Babylonian reliefs. - Ah.

- They were doing it 4,000 years ago.

- They're still doing it. - It's extraordinary.

♪♪

- [Sighs] - Sometimes I go up there.

[Gasps]

I'm a fairly good mountain climber,

but how, for God's sake, do you get up?

- I must confess it's pretty easy.

You just walk around the back, and go up.

Oh.

And why?

Why do you go there?

♪♪

I go when I'm lonely.

♪♪

I get very lonely.

♪♪

- Gertrude. - Ah! Dear.

- [Sighs] Yes? - A letter.

- A letter for me? - No, for Henry.

Mr. Cadogan you mean?

Yes, Henry.

Could you please hand him this letter?

- Why don't you give it to him yourself?

- Oh, I cannot. I cannot.

Why can't you?

- Gertrude, from woman to woman, you won't say anything?

- No, I won't. - To no one?

- Not a soul, I-I promise.

Well, since last year.

I mean, since 1 year, 2 months, and 11 days...

What?

I have had...

a passion for Henry.

What did he say to you today? Did he mention me today?

Um...

No, we just talked about shepherds.

So why can't you give Mr. Cadogan your letter?

I just can't.

And sending him letters by mail

might cause gossip upon its arrival.

Letters?

See, I have written 202.

What is so terrible...

I can't send them.

Oh.

Sweet Florence, my darling.

You know I would do anything for you.

But I cannot fight the battles of your heart.

- [Crying] - Shh.

♪♪

Father dearest, I do not know where to begin.

The Orient is like a prolonged dream.

I am being taken care of wonderfully by Auntie,

and for all the rest,

Mr. Cadogan is a fine guide and guardian.

♪♪

He takes care of Florence and me.

He shows us lovely things from the bazaars.

He is always there when we want him and never when we don't.

Hurry.

[Indistinct conversations]

- Yeah. - Yes.

Thank you for bringing us. [Sighs]

- You see, they really eat the heads here.

- Do they? - Mm.

- This is a delicacy? - Yeah.

I see.

Oh, look at the colors.

- Ah, yes. - So pretty.

This is paprika.

You try it.

I can?

[Gasps]

- Mmm. - [Chuckles]

How do you say "thank you"?

[All speak foreign language]

Don't you love it, Florence?

Mm.

[Breathes deeply]

Miss Bell.

I stayed up, hoping I would see you.

- I didn't come to play billiards.

Why did you come?

I came for your card trick.

[Chuckles]

I see.

Card trick it is.

You'll have to come over here.

Now, as you can see, the deck is already shuffled.

The red cards and the black cards are placed at random.

Now, this trick is fiendish...

[Chuckles]

- ...because, from this point on, I will not touch the cards.

♪♪

You will do everything.

- Me? - Mm-hmm.

You see, I am going to cast a spell over you.

And under this spell, without looking,

you'll be able to determine if a card is red

or if it is black.

- Without looking at the cards? - Mm-hmm.

♪♪

Mm, but that's impossible.

According to the laws of probability.

- Under my spell, the laws do not exist.

♪♪

You may begin.

♪♪

Do not turn it over.

I'm not.

What color is it?

♪♪

[Smooches] Black.

♪♪

Black.

♪♪

Red.

Black.

Red.

♪♪

Black.

Black. Red.

Red. Red.

- Mmmmmmmmmmm-mm!

[Chuckles]

♪♪

[Gasps]

Voilà.

♪♪

Mr. Cadogan,

you did touch the cards again, when you turned them over.

[Chuckles]

Gertrude, you're very smart.

You're the only one who's ever noticed that.

♪♪

- Did you just call me Gertrude, Henry?

Yes, I did.

And did you just call me Henry?

Shh.

The walls have ears.

♪♪

How does the trick really work?

♪♪

I'm not going to tell you,

but you're very close.

Am I?

♪♪

[Wind gusting]

I love the birds here.

I come here for the birds.

♪♪

This is the Tower of Silence.

♪♪

[Panting]

♪♪

- Gertrude, you're sure you wish to go all the way up?

Yes, I'm sure.

Yes.

There may be bones.

Maybe skulls.

Maybe vultures.

[Panting]

♪♪

What if we anger the vultures?

♪♪

- They've probably heard us and flown away.

As I told you, this is where the Zoroastrians

leave their dead to the vultures.

They consider them sacred.

♪♪

Are you scared?

I'm not afraid.

♪♪

[Insect buzzes] Aah!

[Vulture growls] Oh.

[Panting]

Gertrude Lowthian Bell,

I wish to kiss you.

♪♪

[Vulture screeching]

♪♪

Maybe we shouldn't do it here.

- [Vulture screeches] - [Chuckles]

Run. Come on.

♪♪

Come on.

♪♪

Come on!

♪♪

[Both panting]

♪♪

[Panting]

♪♪

[Crying]

- Florence, stop that moody brooding.

- Oh, Father... - Frank.

- Please don't "Frank, Frank" me. - She is a girl.

- My dinner table is a no-cry zone.

- I'm sorry I gave birth to a daughter.

You wanted a boy, obviously.

Absolutely not.

You could've born me a dromedary,

and I wouldn't have minded.

Now, look, darling.

There is a good side about tears.

If you cry a lot, you need to pee much less.

[Crying]

[Sighs]

Let's smoke a cigar together.

[Chuckles]

- Bread. - Yeah.

A piece of bread.

- A-A loaf of bread.

Sharab wine.

A flask of wine.

And so, um...

You're doing so well.

- I am? - Yes.

"A loaf of bread beneath the bough.

A flask of wine, a book of verse."

- "And Thou beside me singing in the wilderness,

and wilderness is paradise enow."

♪♪

- More. - [Chuckles]

- More, more, more, more, more more.

Right. Look at this verse.

"The bird of time has but a little way to fly."

♪♪

- It's from Alexander the Great. - Yeah.

That's 2,200 years looking at you.

Is it for me?

No.

♪♪

Only half.

I had a silversmith cut it in two.

So half is for you, and half is for me.

♪♪

[Sighs]

- Wherever you are in the world, and wherever I might be,

this is proof that we belong to each other.

And if one of us dies, then the other keeps the whole coin.

Henry.

♪♪

- Gertrude Lowthian Bell, will you marry me?

♪♪

- Did I hear you correctly? [Chuckles]

- Yes, marry me. Will you marry me?

[Both chuckle]

- Shouldn't you be down on your knees?

Oh, no.

[Both laugh]

- I did it wrong. - [Laughing] No.

♪♪

[Sighs]

- Yes, yes. - Yes?

Alright, will you marry me?

I will.

♪♪

Henry?

♪♪

What are you doing?

Shh.

♪♪

- How did you pass the security guards with a ladder?

[Chuckles]

- I know how to do all the most important things in life.

- But you could've fallen to your death.

♪♪

- It was very important that I solve a particular mystery.

What mystery?

Well, you see,

I love your smile.

But many a man, in love with a woman's smile,

has made the mistake of marrying the whole girl.

♪♪

Here's the whole girl.

♪♪

- I wonder why my father hasn't answered me.

- Don't worry, there's always a delay because

the mail needs to be sorted in the foreign office in London.

- Two days ago I sent a telegram.

- Sent a telegram? - Mm-hmm.

From the embassy?

- So everyone knows about us? - No.

No, I only said, "Have you sent an answer?"

and I've heard nothing.

Nothing from him.

I'm worried.

[Sighs]

Can I help you?

Memsah,from dispatch.

I don't have a telegram, but I noticed

that the mail room had this letter for you.

I knew you were waiting.

I'm always here for you.

I, uh -- I would...

I w-would...

Would what?

- I would give my life for a woman like you.

[Breathing heavily]

♪♪

[Crying]

♪♪

I shall return home. I shall speak to my father.

♪♪

[Sighs]

♪♪

Love is lawless.

Don't go.

♪♪

- His credentials are not impressive.

I don't care.

- Do you have any idea how little a junior diplomat earns?

- I could live in a tent, a tent with the man I love.

- Look, what I have found out about him

and what you probably do not know --

- I know everything. - What you probably do not know

is the man is a gambler.

He's accumulated significant debts.

- But you had an enormous -- an enormous debt.

When you started your steel mill, you did.

- My answer remains, no. - Why?

- I will not give my consent to this -- this childish plan.

♪♪

The nightingale with drops of his heart's blood,

had nourished the red rose.

♪♪

Then came the wind.

♪♪

And catching at the boughs in envious mood,

100 thorns about his heart entwined.

♪♪

- This just arrived by diplomatic pouch from Tehran.

It says that the coin,

and the clothes of Mr. -- Mr. Henry Cadogan,

were found neatly arranged on a rock, by the Lar River.

[Crying]

- Cadogan's body was found the following day

at the bottom of a -- of a cliff

on the opposite side of the river.

The embassy regrets to inform you of this tragic accident.

[Sniffles]

It was no accident.

[Sighs]

- There's also a short note from Cadogan,

which I hesitate to give to you.

[Sighs]

- Gertrude, I'll leave you now.

[Door opens, closes]

- Eternal love does keep in his complacent arms

the earth, the air, the deep.

♪♪

[Sighs]

[Crying]

♪♪

[Breathing heavily]

♪♪

- Light of mine eyes, and harvest of my heart,

and mine at last in changeless memory.

Ah, when he found it easy to depart,

he left the harder pilgrimage to me.

Oh, camel-driver though the cordage start,

for God's sake help me lift the fallen load,

and pity be my comrade of the road.

♪♪

My face is seamed with dust, mine eyes are wet,

of dust and tears the turquoise firmament,

kneadeth the bricks for joy's abode.

And yet, I had not castled, and the time is gone.

♪♪

What shall I play?

Upon the checkered floor of night and day,

Death won the game.

♪♪

[Singing in native language]

♪♪

- For the first time in my life, I know who I am.

My heart belongs to no one now but the desert.

♪♪

- Uh, for years really. - Years?

- Mm-hmm.

- But why venturing out in the desert,

a woman alone, in times of war?

- Have you ever experienced the desert?

- What has that got to do with it?

- What I would like to know is this -- what brings you here?

Why do you leave England for good, as you say?

- Well, to be honest, I do not fully understood myself,

but I did have my moment of epiphany.

- Miss Bell, allow me to be candid.

This sounds pathetic.

[Both chuckle]

And what are your intentions?

- My intentions are to move out there

and do some archeological research.

Study the Bedouins.

The Bedouins? [Scoffs]

Heavens.

This is not going to happen.

- May I remind you, they are under Turkish administration.

- You going to ask for their permit?

- No, and I'm not going to ask for your permit, either.

Do not forget one thing.

Do not forget that soon we intend to inherit their empire,

and I do not want trouble,

I do not want trouble for our ongoing efforts.

You will not stir up confrontations with Turkey

because of the Bedouins.

They are feuding amongst themselves.

Now, this little venture of yours is counterproductive,

and it is dangerous.

You have no power to stop me.

You will not leave.

Yes, I will.

I have already been out there, and I'm going back.

Good day, gentlemen.

- Miss Bell, even if it costs me to let the Turkish authorities

know about your plans, they will intercept you.

This silly business of yours is not going to happen.

♪♪

[Dromedary grunting]

♪♪

[Singing in native language]

♪♪

- Fattuh. - Yes, Miss Bell?

- Do you and the rest of the men know that we may --

we may all be arrested?

I'm prepared.

Even for that?

Fattuh is always prepared.

[Singing in native language]

♪♪

- You are under arrest. All of you are under arrest.

- Lieutenant, is there something I can help you with?

- Who allowed you to leave in the middle of the night,

without a permit by the authorities?

- Effendi, there must be some misunderstand--

We dohave a permit.

- You, who are you? - I'm Fattuh,

the servant of Miss Bell.

- Miss Gertrude Bell, I know who you are.

Do you have any weapons?

Uh, no.

No, we do not.

- This document comes directly --

- It comes directly from Istanbul.

Directly from the ministry.

Miss Bell, I am so sorry.

I had a cable from our headquarters in Amman --

- Yes, well, Amman probably just wasn't notified

by your government.

The ways of bureaucracy are labyrinthine.

It's always the same, even in London,

at our Foreign Office, so...

- Is that so? - Yes, yes.

Thank you, Lieutenant.

Your horses look like they need some water.

Would you like to share a moment with us?

[Indistinct conversations]

Where did you get the permit?

- I know the scribe at the main mosque in Amman.

He can forge anything for a good bakchich.

Fattuh.

Lieutenant, did you, uh --

did you come from the garrison at the railway?

- Yes, lady. - Mm.

And how many cavalry are stationed there?

About 60.

But the numbers are dwindling.

We were 100 in April.

- Artillery? - All gone.

I should not tell you that.

- Oh, I'm just a traveler and a scientist.

Everyone knows that the -- that the forces of the Ottoman Empire

are somewhat overstretched.

Besides, it's all officially in the papers.

- But my outpost is not in the papers.

- Lieutenant, I would like to offer you a photograph.

- You are very kind, Lady Bell. - You and your men.

- Do you accept? - Yeah, I'd like to.

[Chuckles]

And because I do not wish to carry a military secret,

I am going to give you the exposed negative.

You can have it developed in Amman.

Thank you.

- I would say right in the middle.

Yes.

Ah, the light is beautiful.

Over here.

[Camera shutter clicks]

Superb.

♪♪

- Come. Drink, drink, drink.

[Whistles]

[Indistinct talking]

♪♪

[Speaking native language]

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

- Dear diary, we have reached an oasis

that is something from a Bedouin fable.

The solitude of the desert gives me consolation

in my own solitude.

♪♪

Fattuh asked me why I always request two glasses of tea.

Should I tell him this is for the man who lives in my heart?

♪♪

[Sighs]

♪♪

[Sighs]

♪♪

[Sighs]

Day in, day out, we keep moving ahead,

and setting up camp is the same familiar routine.

But the deeper we immerse ourselves into the desert,

the more everything seems like a dream.

Some days we move across terrain that is almost impassable,

over hard crusts of salt, like shards of broken porcelain.

♪♪

Often I don't follow any map,

but merely go where my curiosity leads me.

♪♪

East of the Dead Sea,

I explored the hidden gorge of Wadi Mujib.

I never expected to find water so fresh in the desert.

♪♪

The deeper I penetrate this mysterious labyrinth,

the more I become known to myself.

♪♪

Near the end of the gorge, Fattuh found something curious.

It turned out to be a Neolithic spearhead,

at least 10,000 years old.

♪♪

I speculated that in prehistoric times,

there must have been war here,

and that this must have been a very defensible place.

But Fattuh said, "This cannot be."

At such an early time, the world was paradise.

and paradise is meant to come upon us again

if we live a righteous life, as foretold by the Prophet.

Paradise has no time, no age, no dwelling place.

It awaits us.

♪♪

This made me eager to go deeper into archeology.

Not far from the gorge is the British excavation site

of Petra.

♪♪

It was a hard day's travel

because of the arrival of early rain.

♪♪

Greetings.

Welcome, Miss Bell.

Welcome to our home.

I'm Campbell Thompson,

and This is my colleague, T.E. Lawrence.

- And what does "T.E." stand for?

- Uh, T.E. stands for Thomas Edward.

I despise both names. They're an abomination.

- Ah. - Please just call me Lawrence.

Will do, Lawrence.

We knew you were coming.

- Really? We didn't send messengers.

- A myriad stars see you at night,

and during the day, the rustling sand announced your footsteps.

- Sorry, um, he's always like this.

[Thunder rumbling]

- And what's a schoolboy like you doing out here, Lawrence?

- Ah, this particular schoolboy has a PhD in archeology.

- Thompson, I --

I have a PhD in medieval pottery shards,

and it follows me around like the wafting

of an old spinster's fart.

How I long to be rid of it.

- [Chuckles] - Shall we?

[Sighs]

This place is a dump.

Everything's been moved by grave robbers

over and over again.

We're simply stuck here.

- Lawrence is dreaming of great treasures, hoards of gold.

[Sighs] At least...

Lord Almighty, give us a library of Babylonian clay tablets

the likes the Germans have excavated in Mesopotamia.

- Our excavation methods are no match for theirs.

- This is true, Gertrude, darling.

"Darling."

- You know, I made a big mistake, wearing this belt here.

- This kind of belt is only worn by bachelors.

And?

- And, the local excavation workers

have been trying to find me a wife.

Imagine, a wife for me. How horrible. [Chuckles]

But they heard of your arrival, and an instant rumor spread

that you are my bride, sent from England.

[Chuckles]

I'm not sure the right man for you has been born yet.

- To me, the Ottoman Empire can't last much longer,

I mean, it looks like the Roman Empire

shortly before its collapse.

- What do you think's gonna happen?

Chaos.

Chaos and war.

- But the British Empire will take over

- and fill the void of power. - No, I beg to differ.

I mean, I believe that, what with the Arabs,

a spirit of nationhood will emerge.

They are the future.

Um, perhaps, but...

any meaningful change may take centuries to launch.

- It will happen in our lifetime --

Enough. Enough politics.

- Decades. - We are archaeologists.

So far, I'm only a traveler.

Well, then, to the travelers.

And to those who dig up mysteries

from under the surface.

I'm sorry we have no glasses.

You know what, Gertrude?

Regardless of what anyone says,

under the benign, soft glow of a campfire,

with good scotch in your fist, make a terrific bride.

[Laughs]

[Dromedaries roaring]

Gertie.

You had breakfast yet?

Got a hangover.

- Oh, I've got a Roman Empire-size headache.

- What a shame that we do not have Rome set on fire,

Nero singing to us live and bemoaning the conflagration

he himself started just to get into the right mood.

- Those were the good old days. - Lawrence, keep it down.

- [Sighs] - Gertie, you can't leave.

The local women might try to wed me off again.

- Do you want me to kiss you in front of everyone?

- Absolutely. - [Chuckles]

- My kiss... My kiss shall liberate you.

Oh, wonderful.

♪♪

Gertie, would you please notmarry me?

[Chuckles] Absolutely.

[Sighs]

♪♪

Please, do come in.

Miss Bell, the consul.

Miss Bell, welcome.

- Welcome back. - Hm.

- Before we talk business, allow me to congratulate you

on your feat of alluding the Turkish authorities.

- Well, I had a permit, if you know what I mean.

Oh, how did you forge it?

[Chuckles] Wasn't me.

It was a scribe from the Great Mosque,

one of the finest.

Yes, it was my servant who contacted him.

Well, I'm sure if you ever needed a document,

- we could arrange -- - Ah, the British Empire

has no need for such petty tricks.

- No. - Except for printing

millions of counterfeit deutsche marks

and Turkish piastres in order to undermine their economies.

- [Chuckles] - Please, take a seat.

[Sighs] Well...

- I'm here to inform you of my plans to travel

to the Jabal Druze.

You can't be serious.

Yes, I most certainly am.

- No one has traveled to the Druze in decades.

So it's about time.

- No British soldier will accompany you, Miss Bell.

It would mean a provocation for the Druze people.

- I myself as a soldier -- - Major.

Major of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers.

- Miss Bell, we seem to know

quite a lot about each other already.

- Major, I'm here to ask you

for what you're already so graciously volunteering.

Even if you do not hear from me for several months

pay no attention and send no one.

- The Druze will take you for a spy.

Yes, well, maybe I am.

Maybe I am a spy, but I am a spy for no one.

No one but myself.

I am the consul's wife.

- Yes. - Don't be so formal, dear.

Miss Bell, this is Judith.

- Welcome. - I, uh, brought you a present.

One for each of you.

Oh, this is very kind.

- Oh, it's just something I found in a souk.

- What do I do with it? - Well, it's just beautiful.

They show the rank of a sheik my love,

so don't use them in the kitchen for your onions.

[Laughter]

Come.

But the Druze are fiercely independent.

And more than anything, anti-Turkish.

In fact, they're the only people ever to have defeated the Turks.

- And this is what makes them so interesting.

Besides, their faith incorporates Christian, Gnostic,

Neoplatonic tenets which overlay their Islamic beliefs.

- Please, let's not talk about Plato.

Would you like some more of the couscous?

- We're not talking about Plato, my love.

We are talking about a very grave danger

Miss Bell will face.

Will all be worthwhile.

Be careful.

The Druze do not play the game as it should be played.

They go out to slay, and they spare no one.

While they have enough dry powder in their flasks,

and strength to pull the trigger,

they kill every man, woman and child they encounter.

How awful.

I want you to have them.

♪♪

No.

No, it's too much.

Dear...

have you not said on several occasions

that you would never give these pistols away?

♪♪

Well...

and now they are given away.

Miss Bell, for you.

♪♪

For me?

♪♪

[Singing in native language]

♪♪

- We are traveling across the vast expanse of Bedouin lands,

and my eyes are opening to the complexity

of tribal relations here.

Fattuh has been my gracious teacher in all of this.

He says that the most volatile conflict

is between the Druze, and the Beni Sakhr.

♪♪

- My worry is -- is Omar, Miss Bell.

♪♪

- [Sighs] Yes, I only found out this morning

that he was Beni Sakhr.

♪♪

Should we leave him behind?

- Well, there's no mercy between Druze and Beni Sakhr.

If two of them meet, only one survives.

[Singing in native language]

♪♪

Alright.

♪♪

Lady Bell.

Yes?

- I realize that the Druze would recognize Omar

as a Beni Sakhr by his accent.

- Ah, I did not think about that.

What do we do?

Ask Omar.

- Omar, should I send you back before it's too late?

[Speaking indistinctly]

- Omar suddenly became a deaf-mute.

When?

An hour ago.

[Chuckles]

[Men shouting, gunfire]

[Speaks native language]

You are my prisoners. You will die.

- All of you. - If I die,

it shall be at the hands of your sheikh.

Where is your sheikh? Take me to him.

- Miss Bell, you're wounded. - It's nothing.

Nothing. Take me to your sheikh now.

Now!

- A woman passes through the entrance at the women's side.

This woman is joining the men.

Sit down.

Sit down, woman.

Please.

Who are you to dare to come here?

I am Gertrude Bell,

and I am a subject of the British Empire.

- Thank the Almighty that you're not German.

Have a seat, please.

- I thank him every day that I am not.

[Sighs]

Are you a spy?

No.

I am a writer.

I write about the beauty of the land and its people.

So you're a poet.

In a way, but in fact, I-I do not describe what I see.

I-I [sighs] I just name its beauty.

More in the vein of the --

the Roman poet Virgil.

Who is an Aeneid.

Yes.

I'm so sorry, but how does the sheikh

of the Druze know about Virgil?

- I have traveled -- incognito.

[Both chuckle] I've been to Damascus,

to Beirut, to Paris, Les Champs-Elysées,

avenue du monde, Baudelaire,

Et ses "Fleurs du mal." Rimbaud.

[Both chuckle]

You're right. This poet never describes anything.

He just names the glory of the trees, the beehives,

and the life in the country.

He's like our poets.

This is true.

[Exhales sharply]

May I ask in one of my trusted men?

Please do.

- Fattuh, would you fetch me my wooden case?

- Miss Bell, I hope my men didn't hurt you.

- They did, but it is a small wound.

It is what we call, um, merely a graze.

- Forgive them. They know no better.

I'm sorry.

I want like to give you a gift.

It is something very precious to me, and it was given to me.

And now, now it is yours.

Oh.

Exquisite.

Stay as my guest.

You are under the protection of our hospitality.

[Sighs]

♪♪

[Singing in native language]

♪♪

[Indistinct talking]

[Laughs]

♪♪

Good to have you back.

- A noble bare wound but alive.

Please, it's nothing.

Nothing.

But I have to admit something,

I -- I gave away your pistols.

- They were not mine. They were yours.

No, but you gave them to me.

They were ornamental anyway.

And, finally, finally, they became useful.

Assumed a purpose.

I'm sorry.

- Miss Bell, will you please be quiet?

Finally, something happened.

- [Chuckles] - Bullets.

[Both chuckle]

- Now I have a new plan. I want to go to Hayil.

- But it is the middle of the Arabian desert.

It is the forbidden zone.

- Yes and we have only a few reports from --

from some travelers in the 1850s.

Why for God's sake Hayil?

- Because it is the secret epicenter of the Arab world,

and I want to meet the Emir Ibn Rashid.

He is important.

He is the leader of Arabia.

- Well, who will be with you? - Fattuh.

And my men.

What? I trust them.

♪♪

You've arrived too early.

- You want me to come back later? - No.

No, no, no.

- What's going on? - This stallion is for you.

For me?

- Well, you'll need the best horse in Arabia.

- [Chuckles] But you're painting it.

Never seen anything like it.

Well...

- Well, what? - I have to make a confession.

[Chuckles]

I stole him for you.

You stole this horse for me?

See what he can do.

- Hut, hut, hut, hut, hut, hut,

hut, hut, hut, hut, hut.

[Chuckles]

Bravo.

Bravo, Salhadin. Bravo, Salhadin.

Bravo.

I didn't exactly steal him, you understand.

It was more an act of expropriation.

- Where? From whom?

From the Turkish authorities.

From the enemy, so to speak.

How?

- Well, there were two things I did.

I paid off an editor of a local newspaper

to write about a disease spreading amongst the horses.

Then I took on false credentials as a vet,

I went straight to the Turkish garrison,

I inspected the horses,

this stallion here of course had to be removed immediately,

and I put him straight into quarantine.

[Chuckles]

So His Excellency, the British consul,

- Richard Doughty-Wylie -- - Has stolen a horse for you.

[Sighs]

- Can you leave us? Thank you.

Ah, Miss Bell.

I have summoned you, and I felt --

No one summons me.

I have, um, invited you.

- That sounds vaguely better. - Yes.

Well, let's get straight at it then, shall we?

You ventured out, and I felt not inclined to support this.

To put it mildly.

With the size and momentum of the Great War that is gaining,

it would be of considerable value for our country

if you could make your curiosity more...

systematic.

Meaning what?

- You would be our only spy in a vast area

we have little intelligence about.

In short...no.

A blunt no.

Correct. A blunt no.

I operate for no one.

- What is it then that attracts you to the Bedouin out there?

- It is something that you and your world

would never understand.

It's their freedom.

It's their dignity.

It's their poetry of life.

Have a good day.

♪♪

[Sighs]

♪♪

[Sighs]

♪♪

[Moans]

Mr. Wylie.

Richard.

Please say Richard.

Richard...

[Sighs]

I'm not ready, uh...

♪♪

I would never be with...

Would never what?

♪♪

I would never be with a man again.

♪♪

Because I, uh...

I lost a man.

- Lost? - Yes.

I'm -- I'm a widow.

[Sighs]

- A widow? - Yes.

No, no, I, uh...

♪♪

Uh, sort of.

[Sighs]

♪♪

- Well, what a clumsy fool I've been.

No, it's, uh...

♪♪

Will you forgive me?

Of course.

♪♪

[Chuckles]

Well...

♪♪

[Chuckles]

[Indistinct conversations]

- [Chuckles] - What else do we need?

- Uh, quinine, iodine, and antidote against scorpions.

No, scorpions, no.

We will be watchful.

No Bedouin has ever been stung, am I right?

Yes, yes ma'am.

As you wish.

This market has everything we need.

Mosquito net, a folding bed, a canvas bathtub.

We need this.

Well, the lady has a good eye.

Assure you they are the best.

- I have confession to make. - A confession?

Yes.

As wonderful as the horse was, it would never have made it

in the dunes of the Necru desert.

Yes, and what did you do?

I traded it.

- Well, Fattuh traded it in the marketplace.

For four of the very best dromedaries.

- [Chuckles] - There they are.

- [Laughs] - I'm sorry.

Gertrude, don't leave.

Not now.

Richard, I have no choice.

My heart is not ready.

I can feel that.

Stay for just a few more weeks.

No, it's late December.

Very soon, the desert won't be passable.

- I'm am longing for you. - Please do not say that.

Do not say these things.

- Well, it will be very lonely without you.

You have a wife.

- It is the most unbearable loneliness

to be married unhappily.

- This comes at me from nowhere.

Nowhere, Richard.

Besides, I could never fully be yours.

You are a married man.

I must settle everything.

Will you write to me?

♪♪

- Yes I'll write you from every --

every post office in the desert.

[Laughs]

- [Sighs] - I will keep a diary for you.

♪♪

The wind is shouting.

Shouting what?

- The wind is shouting of sand...

and shouting storm.

♪♪

[Dromedary grunting]

♪♪

[Dromedaries grunting]

[Singing in native language]

♪♪

- Can the lady show me how to do it?

To cook an egg?

The desert knows no eggs.

The desert knows no hens.

- [Sighs] You boil it for 5 minutes.

The desert knows no minutes.

The length of a prayer.

Oh, ever present.

[Sighs]

♪♪

Richard...

I am trying to keep you out of my thoughts, but it is strange.

You are on my mind in every step of the desert.

My cook does not have a notion of time.

He has never boiled an egg.

Already I have dropped back into the desert

as if it were my own place.

Silence and solitude fall around me like an impenetrable veil.

Sleep more profound than civilization contrives,

and then, the roadless desert, again.

♪♪

- Before the tribal wars, this place was alive.

Now they're only ghosts here.

♪♪

What is this?

♪♪

How is this possible?

♪♪

These are from the consul.

- The consul's messenger must have been riding day and night.

♪♪

We shall stay here tonight.

♪♪

- My beloved, the desert has you, and my heart is with you.

If I was free and a very perfect night,

it would be more fitting to take you and kiss you.

God seems to have joined us for some divine moment.

♪♪

Ah, the ecstasy.

We might reach it again, on an outpost of time.

♪♪

[Sighs] I can't sleep.

I can't sleep.

It is 1:00 in the morning.

You and you and you are between me and any rest.

You once called me life.

And fire.

I flame, and I'm consumed.

There is a voice in me I try to chase away.

It says, "Before all other world, claim me and take me."

[Sighs]

And yet...

♪♪

Mm.

♪♪

- Richard, I doubt there is anyone in the world

so happy as I am now.

You were baptized of the desert,

and there is no another salvation for you.

♪♪

When we are on the move, I feel, everything is behind us.

Only our shadows follow, as if to remind us of our past lives.

♪♪

[Men shouting indistinctly]

[Horse neighs, dromedaries grunting]

[Men shouting indistinctly]

♪♪

♪♪

- The lady is bold, as bold as any Bedouin man.

- Is your destination Hayil? - It is.

I want to meet Ibn Rashid.

- We have to talk a lot about Ibn Rashid.

He has powerful enemies.

Ibn Saud?

Yes, and many others.

You will not find him in Hayil.

Where is he?

He's at war in the south.

- I thought he was at peace with Yunnan Ze.

Not any longer.

Beware of Hayil.

There is a lot of murdering going on.

- For me? - Yep.

♪♪

- Sheik Harb, you've shown me such gracious hospitality.

And you have entertained me with wonderful desert stories.

Every Bedouin is a storyteller.

[Chuckles]

But you have also given me insight into the tribes,

and insight into the affairs of Hayil.

And for that, I want to thank you.

I would like to give you these.

These are my binoculars.

I can see clearly now, so I do not need them.

These are a gift.

I have become a-a desert traveler who is very rich.

Thank you.

And my guide, Hammet, will be your escort.

No harm will be done to you on your way.

But once in Hayil, no one gets out.

Inshallah.We want to see you again -- alive.

Inshallah.

[Sighs]

You can see very far.

Oh.

[Chuckles]

[Singing in native language]

♪♪

[Dromedary roaring]

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

- Slaves. I don't know exactly what this means.

But it's an insult, I'm sure.

Only the woman.

Men must stay behind.

Only the woman is invited here.

♪♪

[Door closes]

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

[Door rattling]

[Groans, sighs]

♪♪

[Singing in native language]

♪♪

- I am Fatima, the aunt of the emir.

This is Turkiyyeh, who will entertain you.

Welcome to Hayil.

You must be the Lady of the Desert.

Rumor has been faster than your camels.

I'm Gertrude Bell.

But who has sent you?

No one.

No, I'm here on my own.

On your own?

I know the world.

I come from Istanbul.

The Sultan sent me as a gift to Emir Rashid.

What are your plans?

- I would like to meet Ibn Rashid.

♪♪

- Emir Rashid has been driven out of Hayil.

His women followed him.

And all his Shuma tribesmen.

But he left me behind.

♪♪

- He was a guest of the Emir? - Yes.

The Emmy Harrud, six years ago.

What happened?

- This palace is full of conspiracies.

Full of murder.

What happened to the Emir?

He was assassinated.

And his successor was murdered.

And his successor, as well, all within a few years.

♪♪

The Eunuchs were killed with them,

and the entire harem was passed from man to man to man.

♪♪

Who is the ruling Emir now?

- There was hardly anyone left in his family.

So he's young.

He's raiding in the north.

Fatima, his aunt, is the true ruler.

She is the real Emir.

[Gasps]

♪♪

It's beautiful.

♪♪

I have been a prisoner here for three weeks now.

- [Sighs] - You are not a prisoner.

Your men are taken care of well.

You are only requested to stay until the Emir decides.

Decides what?

- If it would be good to have you here.

For what?

- My wish is to keep you here, in the harem of the Emir.

He would be delighted.

- [Sighs] Fatima, that is not my wish.

When does he get back?

Do you know?

♪♪

[Shouting in distance]

♪♪

[Chanting in native language]

♪♪

- I'm delighted to greet my guest.

- He means, "I am delighted

to greet my wife into my harem."

Yes, my wife.

Emir...

it is an honor to meet you.

However, I am already married,

I'm a member of the British Consul's harem,

and this would cause a problem

for both the man and his country.

I was told otherwise.

♪♪

- "No man ever touches a married woman"...

♪♪

...the Prophet, peace be upon him, has taught us.

♪♪

Dear Richard, it's clear from what I've seen

that the house of Rashid is moving towards its demise.

It now appears that, Ibn Saud's star is in the ascendant,

and that the future of Central Arabia lies with him,

not the people of Hayil.

I shall communicate this to the British Arab Bureau.

♪♪

The explorations that I have undertaken these past years,

the terrain and its people, of tribal life and government

have culminated in a unique picture,

one that only I can paint.

♪♪

As for myself, I sense that long years of preparation,

preparation for what I do not know,

have ended, and a new destiny is unfolding before me.

♪♪

I have only now to return to you.

♪♪

[Indistinct conversations]

♪♪

Let's find somewhere quiet.

♪♪

[Sighs]

♪♪

I've read your diary.

♪♪

It was meant for you.

The world is changing.

♪♪

- While I was in the desert, the war turned

into a worldwide war, and I -- I didn't even notice.

All of Europe now.

♪♪

Russia, Japan...

♪♪

...and America now.

They will have their say, too.

♪♪

Gertrude, there's something that I want to tell you.

♪♪

I have reenlisted for active service.

♪♪

I expected it.

♪♪

The moment I'm back from war,

I shall put everything in order with Judith.

♪♪

And I shall be free.

♪♪

I'd rather put a bullet in my head than live without you.

♪♪

[Sighs]

Why do you say that?

♪♪

Gertrude...

♪♪

...there is something you should know.

Judith has been making ominous remarks about...

♪♪

...about committing suicide if I should try to divorce her.

[Sighs, sniffles]

I see.

I do not believe it, but...

♪♪

Love is a tyrant, sparing none.

♪♪

- Gertie. - Mm.

Oriental secretary.

Congratulations.

It's as if they invented the post for you.

- Signature, please. - Yes.

- All this is your staff? - It is.

Thank you.

- But you have become senior advisor, Lawrence.

You've morphed into a political animal.

- Technically, I'm under you, but...

What?

- There are no other men like me, and no other women

- like you, either, of course. - Oh.

- You've become some kind of queen.

- No, just a woman who misses her man.

- Oh, you mean your officer who joined in the glories of war?

Yes, I do.

♪♪

- Miss Bell, could you nudge a little bit closer, please?

- We'd like to get the Giza Pyramids in the frame.

- Mr. Churchill. Still, please.

Mr. Churchill, what are you

expecting from the conference?

- Boys, let's face it --

a new order of the Arab World.

- Mr. Churchill, with this new emphasis on the Middle East,

where does that leave off policy towards British India?

- [Sighs] Churchill is trying to sell this

as an achievement of the British Empire.

- [Sighs] What else is it? - Come on, Lawrence.

We are not leading them to autonomy,

it's the Arab nations who are awakening.

This is their achievement.

Yes, of course.

[Sighs]

- The Lions of the British Empire.

- Mr. Lawrence, over this way please, with the pyramids

in the background, for the photographers.

- Gentlemen. You're having a shot.

A little to the left, sir. Gentlemen.

It's a marvelous picture, sir.

Hold tight, Mr. Lawrence.

- Gentlemen, are we getting this camp?

The shot is marvelous.

[Dromedaries groaning]

- Mr. Lawrence. Mister Lawrence. - [Grunts]

- Mr. Churchill. Marvelous. Boys, are you getting this?

One more like that, please, Mr. Churchill.

My cigar.

My cigar went out.

This is the end of the world.

Wonderful, Mr. Churchill.

You're all looking fabulous.

Simply splendid.

- 4,000 years of history are looking upon you.

Oh, Lawrence, shut up.

Napoleon said that before you.

- Yes, all together now. Excellent.

[Camera shutter clicks]

[Indistinct conversations]

[Sighs]

- [Chuckles] Listen to you.

[Indistinct conversations]

[Sighs]

- Our losses at Gallipoli are staggering,

and the Australian expedition force

has lost 30,000 men in one single day.

General, this is classified.

I don't care.

By tomorrow, the whole world will shout it from its window.

- Doughty-Wylie, who led the assault,

has already been awarded the, uh, Victoria Cross.

Did you say Richard?

Richard Doughty-Wylie?

Royal Welsh Fusiliers.

- But the Victoria Cross is only for fallen heroes.

Correct.

We're told he was seeking death in combat.

I think he was having problems with his wife.

[Indistinct conversations]

Yes.

[Glass shatters, conversations stop]

[Breathing heavily]

Excuse me. Thank you. Thank you.

[Speaks native language]

- Fattuh, what would I do without you?

- I shall follow the lady to the end of the world.

♪♪

- Dear diary, in the afflictions of my heart,

I am turning to you.

It is as if my life has ended,

as if love was not meant for me,

and only the great task I have shouldered keeps me going.

♪♪

Cairo has became one of the centers of the world again,

and I'm starting a new life, the life of a politician.

♪♪

- Gertrude, Prince Faisal has requested a meeting with you.

He seems to be everywhere.

And how does the third son of Sharif Hussein

deal with his brothers?

- His brothers are only interested in horse racing.

♪♪

[Sighs]

♪♪

- Gertrude, we have to play their game.

Faisal is shrewd, he's cunning, he's ruthless.

- But he seems to be the right one for this time in history.

- I mean, let's be sincere -- - It's dangerous to be sincere,

unless you're also stupid.

♪♪

- [Sighs] England needs to get out its colonies

sooner rather than later.

♪♪

- I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just.

♪♪

[Gunshot, men shouting]

♪♪

[Applause]

My brother Faisal and I,

have read your memorandum on the Arab war.

Congratulations.

You do express our feelings.

- No one in the Western world knows the heart

of the Bedouin better than you.

- The Bedouins call you [speaks native language]

"the noble lady."

Oh.

I am honored.

- And we agree with those who call you

"the mother of the faithful,"

a title given to the wife of the Prophet, peace upon him.

- In the face of two direct descendants of the Prophet

and in the face of the people of the desert,

I am not worthy of that honor.

Your falcons, your falcons are worthy of kings.

You will soon be kings.

♪♪

Over whom?

♪♪

Over the people I love.

♪♪

- What makes an English woman love us so much?

♪♪

- I have a trusted man, from Homs.

♪♪

He has, uh...

Well, he has saved my life, many, many times in the desert,

and he has an old mother,

and when she speaks to him -- she has five sons -- she says,

"Fattuh...

"Fattuh, whom I entrust to bury me."

And then she speaks of the weather,

she speaks of the garden,

and for that alone, for him,

you will always have my heart.

♪♪

And now, with your permission, I will leave.

♪♪

Go in peace.

♪♪

- How could she know that we will be kings?

She is the maker of kings.

- She is the uncrowned queen of the desert.

♪♪

[Singing in native language]

♪♪