Theeb

Theeb (meaning "wolf") is a Bedouin Western in the truest sense — a survival story set against the vast, unforgiving landscape of Wadi Rum, where a young boy named Theeb (Jacir Eid Al-Hwietat) finds himself alone after his older brother is killed by Ottoman-aligned bandits during the Great Arab Revolt of 1916.

Naji Abu Nowar spent a year living with Bedouin tribes in southern Jordan before making the film, and it shows. Every detail — the method of butchering a camel, the protocol for approaching a stranger's camp, the way a boy learns to read tracks in the sand — is authentic. The cast is entirely composed of Bedouin non-actors from the same tribe, and their performances are extraordinary.

The film's second half is almost wordless: Theeb, alone in the desert with the wounded mercenary who killed his brother, must decide whether to kill or help him. The relationship that develops — part hostage negotiation, part unlikely mentorship — is one of the most complex in recent cinema. Theeb earned Jordan its first-ever Oscar nomination.