Queen of the Desert

The reviews for this movie are nonsense. It's well worth your time seeing. Nicole Kidman is fantastic. She has never looked better and this was a great role for her. James Franco is the weakest link as he never seems sure of who he is. The film is uneven but what Herzog movie isn't? It's a great story, well told and made me want to find out more of this person who I had never heard of. Hats off to the cinematographer, lighting and audio guy or gal, this must have been a hard shoot and you all did magnificent work.

Why are critics so harsh? Kidman was stunning in this movie. Her face can precisely depict emotions without words. Herzog's art design, photography pulled me in. The pace felt like riding a camel across isolated lands. Bell's storyline felt nomadic. I loved the ending.

Well, that was disappointing. Georgina Howell wrote a terrific biography of Gertrude Bell (Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations) which I read a couple of years ago. I was so excited to see that her story had, ostensibly, been made into a movie, I jumped to rent it. I wish I'd read the Rotten Tomatoes reviews first. All accurate in my view with the addition that Bell really *is* a fascinating figure, almost all of which is ignored or obscured by this movie. In reference to Iraq, the borders of which Gertrude Bell drew, she said "the birth of new states is attended with so much travail." As many of our service members, myself included, have observed first-hand, that travail has lasted a very long time. There's *so* much more this movie could've done in story telling! The dialogue between Jenny Agutter (whom I love! Yay, "Call the Midwife!") and Hugh Calder introducing the backstory of our protagonist are painfully awkward: surprisingly bad writing. Wasting 36 minutes on Bell's relationship with Cadogan was time that should've been spent explaing why and how she divined Iraq and other countries, not left to a note at the end. That said, the costumes, sets, hair and lighting are superlative: as good or better than Merchant-Ivory (hence the 3 stars). All of the famous actors in this are very talented: I've seen all of them do work I enjoyed and respected. I think the shortcomings of this movie do not rest with them. Including the prominant type-o in the credits where a character is listed as "Early of Chester." Bottom line: if you enjoy fantastic costumes & sets, see this! If you have an interest in the fascinating woman Gertrude Bell (& some background as to why so many of us were deployed to Iraq), read the book.

I thought this was a first rate movie. It is sad that those who write reviews that are negative do not understand the world as it was. As a man who was born during world war two i value this movie as part of the history of the world, and the changes that occurred in the 1920's and 1930's. There is no much more to life than instant news and Starbucks.

Nicole Kidman is a wonderful actress . She can bring any character into a memorable focus. The movie was somehow unconnected and failed to make the characters seem meaningful although there was every chance. One felt somehow lost and the story was always going to happen , but slipped away. Great scenery, good sound track, well presented, yet missing anything compelling.

Bad acting by Kidman, she was not convincing in her role. Slow movie with no clear point and many gaps in logic. Wasted time.

I think Ms Kidman is too old to do this part...

This movie is good for those looking for a historical period piece on a real life person. While maybe not. 90% it certainly doesn't deserve such a low rating.

As usual a pretty good performance by Ms Kidman but what Robert Pattinson was doing in this movie is beyond me. One of the worse performances. His screen time was extremely limited and he did not make an impression during that brief time. Movie itself was a soso drama in real life with very little drama!

Don't understand such harsh reviews. Maybe not the best Herzog film but Nicole Kidman is fantastic as Gertrude Bell - she totally elevated whatever she is in and makes this one worth watching. What an amazing woman Bell was (she was Lawerence of Arabia before Lawrence). Fantastic story and like in all of Herzog's narratives the locations themselves is incredibly beautiful. Worth a look for Kidman alone - one of the best actresses working today.