The life and exploits of T.E. Lawrence are well known, not least thanks to the work of David Lean and his legendary film LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. LETTERS FROM BAGHDAD explores the life and works of a lesser known, but arguably more important, figure of the same era: Gertrude Bell.
Bell was a history student at Oxford University, graduating with first class honours – no mean feat in itself, given how few opportunities for study were made available to women at the time – before becoming a traveller and writer. Having begun to work with British Intelligence during World War I, she became an influential figure in the shaping of the Middle East region and one of the few women to hold any political power or influence.
The film represents a remarkable insight into a key political era in the Middle East.
She became a mediator between the British and Arab governments and she became an advisor to Faisal bin Hussein, former king of Syria and who would go on to become the first king of Iraq. Bell advised him in tribal business and local matters and supervised the selection of his first government and helped to draw the boundaries of modern day Iraq. As her political influence waned, she helped to found the Baghdad archaeological museum before her untimely death due to an overdose of sleeping pills.
Directors Zeva Oelbaum and Sabine Krayenbühl have drawn on the extensive writings of Bell to shape a portrait of her life and career. Central to that are Bell’s writings, consisting of over 1,600 letters, given voice by Tilda Swinton (and briefly Rose Leslie as young Gertrude) and accompanied by rare footage from the region at the time that Gertrude Bell was living and working there. Swinton gives Bell a sense of passion and compassion but without theatrics, reflecting the accounts of Bells’ contemporaries who describe her as often distant or difficult but always invested deeply in her work.
The accounts of those contemporaries are also included in the film, portrayed by a range of actors talking directly to camera and helping to give context to Bell’s work and her personal life. Shot in monochrome to match the archive footage, the film also uses Bell’s own extensive catalogue of photography to flesh out the era as much as possible.
What emerges through Oelbaum and Krayenbühl’s film is a surprisingly rounded portrayal of Bell, both capturing her power and influence but not afraid to use the words of others to reflect her true nature and to put her properly in context. The initial effect of hearing Bell’s voice, while all of the other accounts in the story are relayed through actors, can be a little disconcerting, but it actually works to the film’s benefit, helping to set her sense of place and purpose within her own narrative.
The film represents a remarkable insight into a key political era in the Middle East. Given how much that region has been at the forefront of news reporting over the past two decades, LETTERS FROM BAGHDAD is not just a historical document, but succeeds in giving valuable context to our modern understanding of the complicated politics of the region by illustrating Bell’s involvement nearly a century ago.
Gertrude Bell has clearly been an influence not only on Oelbaum and Krayenbühl but on many of the other contributors, with Tilda Swinton and Thelma Schoonmaker among the executive producers. Krayenbühl, in her role as editor, has also managed to elevate the film beyond a static recreation of events, with a seamless flow between the eras of Bell’s life and a concise grasp on her many achievements. Paul Cantelon’s simple score is also wonderfully evocative of the era while retaining a contemporary feel, helping to bridge past and present and connect the audience to Bell’s time. With such an extensive library of resources, there is always a risk that such a story can lack focus, but Bell’s achievements are so comprehensively summarised here that LETTERS FROM BAGHDAD will leave you wondering why she hasn’t received the same recognition as T.E. Lawrence.
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