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.

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 a 1,000 years that no one will ever disentangle.

And Syria might pose an even bigger problem.

Sunni, Shiite, Alawites, Druze, Christian, all at each other's throats.

And up North, the Kurds. Let the French deal with the Kurds.

Or let the French try to 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.

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.

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.

Ahh.. 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.

- 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, then a lion, and then two elephant bulls.

Are there any elephants left in Africa?

You meaning what, young lady?

Gertrude...

I would love, to elope with you.

Where to? Paris, India?

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. If we can straight forward.

Absolutely.

- 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 honour.

Over here, Mr. Havenhurst.

Over here to your left.

I'm so sorry.

So sorry.

Dear God!

Send me an earthquake, please.

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

I feel so domesticated.

- It.. 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 honours.

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

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

- Gertrude, would you please sit down? - No, no, I don't want to sit down.

Ohh.. 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 wilfulness.

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.

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.

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,

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.

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,

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 wildlife is over.

No more riding on horseback into our dining room.

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

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.

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?

The scents. Can't believe it.

- And the birds. - Nightingale.

When I cry at night into my pillow, she always makes me feel happy.

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

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

Hello.

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.

I have been officially assigned to be your guardian,

to entertain you so,

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

I will do that.

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.

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".

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.

Uhh 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. - Alright.

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

It's a perfect nightmare of flowers, and scents.

Uh huh.

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?

Umm.

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

"and with my own hand, laboured 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.

Bye.

Miss Bell, this is my favourite 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're thousands of sheep,

and, the shepherds swim among them on these inflated goat skins.

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

In Babylonian reliefs.

They were doing it 4,000 years ago.

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

Sometimes I go up there.

I'm a fairly good mountain climber,

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

I must confess it's pretty easy, heh..

Just walk around the back, and go up.

And why?

Why do you go there?

I go when I'm lonely.

I get very lonely.

Gertrude.

Ahh, dear...

- 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 can not, I can not.

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 one year, two months and 11 days...

What?

I have had...

a passion for Henry.

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

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 two hundred and two.

What is.. so terrible.

I can't send them.

Sweet Florence, my darling.

You know I would do anything for you.

But I cannot fight the battles of your heart.

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.

Yes. Thank you for bringing us.

You see, they really eat the heads here.

Do they?

- This is a delicacy? - Yeah.

Look at the colours!

- Ah yes. - So pretty.

This is paprika. You try it.

I can?

How do you say "Thank you"?

Don't you love it, Florence?

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.

I see.

Card trick it is.

You have to come over here.

As you can see, the deck is already shuffled.

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

This trick is fiendish.

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

You will do everything.

Me?

You see,

I am going to cast a spell over you.

And under this spell, without looking,

you'll be able to determine if the card is red, or if it is black.

Without looking at the cards?

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 colour is it?

Black.

Black.

Red.

Black.

Red.

Black. Black.

Red. Red. Red.

Voila.

Mr. Cadogan, you did touch the cards again,

when you turned them over.

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?

Shhh... the walls have ears.

How does the trick really work?

I'm not going to tell you.

But you're very close.

Am I?

Love the birds here.

I come here for the birds.

This is the Tower of Silence.

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.

What if we anger the vultures?

They've probably heard us and flown away.

As I told you,

this is what the Zoroastrians, leave their dead to the vultures.

They consider them sacred.

You're scared?

I'm not afraid.

Gertrude Lowthian Bell.

I wish to kiss you.

Maybe we shouldn't do it here.

Run. Come on.

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.

Let's smoke a cigar together.

- Bread. - Yeah.

A piece of bread.

A.. a loaf of bread.

Sharab wine. A flask of wine.

And so, umm..

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. More more more more more more..

Look at this verse.

"The bird of time, has but a little way,

to fly."

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

That's 2,200 years looking at you.

- It is for me? - No.

Only half.

I had a silversmith cut it in two.

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

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?

Yes, marry me. Will you marry me?

Shouldn't you be down on your knees?

Oh no.

I did it wrong.

- Yes. - Yes?

Alright, will you marry me?

I will.

Henry?

What are you doing?

How did you pass the security guards with a ladder?

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,

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.

Can I help you?

Memsah, from dispatch. Don't have a telegram,

but I noticed that the mailwoman had this letter for you.

I knew you were waiting.

I'm always here for you.

I would..

I would.. would...

Would what?

I would give my life for a woman like you.

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

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.

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,

a hundred thorns about his heart entwined.

This, just arrived by diplomatic pouch from Tehran.

... says that the coin, and the clothes of Mr., Mr. Henry Cadogan,

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

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.

It was no accident.

There's also a, short note from Cadogan,

which I hesitate to give to you.

Gertrude, I'll leave you now.

Eternal love, does keep in his complacent arms,

the earth, the air, the deep.

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 chequered floor of night and day,

Death won the game.

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

My heart belongs to no one now but the desert.

- Ahh.. for years really. - Years?

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.

And what are your intentions?

My intentions, are to move out there

and, do some archaeological research.

- Study the Bedouins. - The Bedouins?

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 am 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!

- 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.

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 do have 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?

Ah 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, a man 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?

Where did you get the permit?

I know this scribe in the main mosque in Amman.

He can forge anything for a good bakchich.

Fattuh.

Lieutenant.

Did you ah.. did you come from the garrison at the railway?

Yes, lady.

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.

I'm just a traveller and a scientist.

Everyone knows that, 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.

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 Aman. - Thank you.

I would say right in the middle.

Yes.

Ah! The light is beautiful.

Over here.

Superb.

More water, Omar.

Fine.

This well has plenty of water.

We can fill her bath all the way.

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?

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 archaeology.

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

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

T.E. stands for Thomas Edward.

I despise both names, they're an abomination.

- Please just call me Lawrence. - Will do, Lawrence.

We knew you were coming.

Really? We didn't send messengers.

A myriad of stars see you at night,

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

Sorry umm.. he's always like this.

And what's a school boy like you doing out here, Lawrence?

Ahh.. this particular school boy has a PhD in archaeology.

Thompson eh...

I have a PhD in medieval pottery shards.

It follows me around like the wafting of an old spinster's fart.

How I long to be rid of it!

Shall we?

This place is a dump.

Everything has been moved by grave robbers,

over and over again.

We're simply stuck here.

Lawrence is dreaming of great treasures, hoards of gold.

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!

But, they heard of your arrival

and, an instant rumour spread that you are my bride,

sent from England.

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.

Don't you think the British Empire will take over

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

I believe that what with the Arabs whose spirit of nationhood will emerge.

They are the future.

Eh, 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 traveller.

Well then, to the travellers.

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 glove of campfire,

with good scotch in your fist,

make a terrific bride.

Gertie!

You had breakfast yet?

Got a hangover.

Ohh 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, bemoaning the conflagration

he himself started just to get into the right mood.

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

Gertie.

You can't leave.

The local women might try to wife me off again.

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

Absolutely.

My kiss,

my kiss shall liberate you.

Ow, wonderful!

Gertie,

would you please, not marry me?

Absolutely.

Please, do come in.

Miss Bell, the consul.

Miss Bell, welcome!

Welcome back!

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.

Ohh.. how did you forge it?

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...

Ahh.. the British Empire has no need for such petty tricks.

No.

Except for printing millions of counterfeit Deutschmarks

and Turkish piastres in order to undermine their economies.

Please, take a seat.

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 travelled 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 ah.. 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? - That's just beautiful.

They show the rank of a sheik my love, so don't use them in the kitchen for your onions.

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?

We are travelling 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.

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.

Lady Bell!

Yes.

I realize that the Druze would recognize Omar as a Beni Sakhr

by his accent.

Ahhhh.. I did not think about that.

What do we do?

Ask Omar.

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

Omar suddenly became a deaf-mute.

When?

An hour ago.

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! - 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 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.

- 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.. I just name its beauty.

More in the vein of 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 travelled... incognito.

I've been to Damascus.

To Beirut.

To Paris.

Les Champs-Elys�es, ... avenue du monde.

Baudelaire...

Et ses "Fleurs du mal". Rimbaud.

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.

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.

Exquisite!

Stay as my guest.

You are under the protection of our hospitality.

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 it became useful. Assumed a purpose.

- I'm sorry. - Miss Bell,

will you please be quiet? Finally, something happened.

Bullets.

Now I have a new plan, I want to go to Hyell.

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 travellers in the 1850s.

Why for God's sake Hyell?

Because it is the secret epicentre of the Arab world

and I want to meet the Emir Ibn Rashid.

He is important. He is the leader of Arabia.

- Who would be with you? - Fattuh.

And my men.

What? I trust them.

You've arrived too early.

- 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.

Hoh! But you're painting it! Never seen anything like it.

Well...

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

I stole him for you!

You stole this horse for me?

See what he can do.

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.

So, His Excellency, the British consul

- Richard Doughty-Wylie... - I've stolen a horse for you.

Ah, Miss Bell.

- I have summoned you and I felt... - No one summons me.

I have, ah.. 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.

Mr. Wylie!

Richard. Please say Richard.

Richard...

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 a widow.

A widow?

Yes! No, no, I, uh...

Sort of.

- O what a clumsy fool I've been. - No, it's, uh...

Will you forgive me?

Of course.

Well...

I see a bright future. Greatness.

With abundant wealth.

A great destiny will take shape.

No. I will forge my own destiny.

What else do we need?

Ah, quinine, iodine, and antidote against scorpions.

No, scorpions, no. We will be watchful.

No Bedouin has ever been stung, am I right?

Yes, yes m'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.

Hey boss, we might need four saddles. How much apiece?

The Noble Lady doesn't pay.

Welcome.

Why?

The Lady is a guest of our Sheik. Guests don't pay. Welcome.

- Four of these. - I'll have them ready.

Thank you very much.

- 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 market place.

For four of the very best dromedaries. There they are.

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 passible.

- 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 will settle everything.

Will you write to me?

Yes I'll write you from every, every post office in the desert.

I will keep a diary for you.

The wind is shouting...

Shouting what?

The wind is shouting of sand... and shouting storm.

Can the lady show me how to do it?

To cook an egg?

The desert knows no eggs. The desert knows no hens.

Uhhh.. you boil it for 5 minutes.

The desert knows no.. minutes.

The length of a prayer.

Ohh.. ever present.

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?

Is it 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.

Ahhh.. I can't sleep.. I can't sleep.

It is one 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."

And yet...

Deliver this please.

It's not enough.

This is a desert, not a post office.

I only have this donkey for transportation.

Is this enough?

Thank you.

Richard...

I doubt there is anyone in the world so happy as I am now.

You were baptised 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.

My lady.

Our sheik wishes to invite you to have tea with him in his tent.

Does the lady accept the invitation?

Yes, the honor is mine.

The honor is mine.

Sheik Harb, invites the Lady of the Desert to his tent.

Of course, thank you.

According to our tradition, I am honored to invite you for a dinner feast.

It is an honor to accept your hospitality.

Anyone who makes it to my tent is a guest.

Your Arabic pronunciation is excellent.

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

- Is your destination Hyell? - It is.

I want to meet Ibin Rashid.

We have to talk a lot about Ibin Rashid.

He has powerful enemies.

Ibn Saud?

Yes, and many others.

- You will not find him in Hyell. - Where is he?

He's at war in the South.

I thought he was at peace with Yunnan Ze.

Not any longer. Beware of Hyell. There is a lot of murdering going on.

- For me? - Yeap.

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

And you have entertained me with wonderful, desert stories.

Every Bedouin is a storyteller.

But you have also given me insight into the tribes, and insight into the affairs of Hyell.

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 traveller 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 Hyell, no one gets out.

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

Inshallah.

You can see very far.

The sand is soft, we will camp here.

What do we do next?

Wait and see.

When they come out, they come out to welcome us,

or they come out to kill us.

I don't see anyone.

They are arguing about, what to do with us.

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.

I am Ibrahim, uncle of our beloved Emir.

May I see him?

He is gone.

When will he be back?

He is at war with our enemies. You cannot leave until he returns.

And my men?

You will stay here.

I am Fatima, the aunt of the emir.

This is Turkia, who will entertain you.

Welcome to Hyell.

You must be the Lady of the Desert.

Rumour has been faster than your camels.

I'm Gertrude Bell.

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 Hyell.

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.

It's beautiful.

I have been a prisoner here for three weeks now.

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.

Ohhh, Fatima...

That is not my wish.

When does he get back?

Do you know?

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 honour 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 Ha'il.

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 governments,

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.

Let's find somewhere quiet.

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 World Wide 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.

I shall be free.

I'd rather put a bullet in my head,

than live without you.

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.

I see.

I do not believe it, but...

Love is a tyrant, sparing none.

Gertie... Oriental secretary. Congratulations.

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

- All this is your staff? - It is.

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.

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?

Churchill is trying to sell this as an achievement of the British Empire.

- 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.

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.

Hold tight, Mr. Lawrence.

Gentlemen, are we getting this camp? The shot is marvellous.

Mister Lawrence!

Marvellous. 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.

- One more, 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!

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 ah, 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.

Yes.

Excuse me. Thank you. Thank you.

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 is 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 centres 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.

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.

England needs to get out its colonies sooner rather than later.

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

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...

"the noble lady".

I am honoured.

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 honour.

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 is, ah...

Well, he has saved my life,

many, many times in the desert,

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.