Lawrence of Arabia

Lawrence of Arabia; adventure / historical drama, UK / Jordan, 1962; D: David Lean, S: Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Jose Ferrer, Anthony Quayle, Claude Rains

World War I, Cairo. The British Army sends Lieutenant T.E. Lawrence via the Red Sea to Yanbu, the Arab peninsula, in order to find prince Feisal and "estimate the situation" against their enemy, the Ottoman Empire. But Lawrence quickly blends in with the area, becomes friends with the mighty Ali and Auda, unites the rivaling Arab tribes and starts an attack against the Turkish Army that controls their territory. After Lawrence leads the Arabs to victory in Aquaba and Damascus, he gets dismissed; the Ottoman Empire dissolves; while the British army turns Arab countries into its new colonies.

One of Spielberg's favorite films, adventure epic "Lawrence of Arabia" won numerous awards and kindliness of the critics despite a few historical inaccuracies: sometimes fascinating, sometimes stiff and schematic, "Lawrence" is at its best when it plays out in the suggestive landscapes of deserts, by which it gains a highly stylish tone. The hidden (political) leitmotiv is the everlasting nature of some things as opposed to futile actions of individuals who try to change the world. One of the movie's trademarks is the fact that it is almost a one-man-show that centres entirely around the unusual character of T.E. Lawrence, one of the most successful diversants in military history—a James Bond-like spy who was initially sent to just cause some 'fifth column' trouble for the Turks, but ended up with a 'snowball effect' that contributed to the dissolution of the 600-year old Ottoman Empire; a British lieutenant who was bored with his life, eager for adventure and different cultures. The thing that attracted director David Lean is almost unbelievable historical irony that not an Arab, but actually a British outsider achieved the impossible: to unite all those rivalling Arab tribes against the Turks and awaken their national identity that ended their life as an Ottoman colony.

Lawrence knows how to sweet talk to Arabs, massage their ego and persuade them to follow his lead. In one sequence, he is able to rally Prince Feisal with this dialogue: "But you know, Lieutenant, in the Arab city of Cordoba were two miles of public lighting in the streets when London was a village." - "Yes, you were great." - "Nine centuries ago." - "Time to be great again, my lord." Among the intriguing sequences is the one in which the hero and his group of Arab friends succeed to cross the dangerous desert and get to Aquaba, but he decides to go back to get a missing colleague and challenge the destiny because "nothing is written". Ironically, not even his destiny is written, as the ending subverts his expectations. When asked why he likes the desert so much, Lawrence replies with: "Because it's so clean". But even the images are great, like the one in which Lawrence is at night walking through the dunes or the classic scene where Ali "emerges" from a Fata Morgana. The movie is comprised out of two halves: the first, optimistic one, in which Lawrence is the winning, idealistic messiah, and the second, pessimistic one, where Lawrence is the flawed loser since the harsh reality catches up with him. But it is a pity that the finale is lukewarm, dry and unexciting: the opening act has some wonderful moments, and one gets the impression you could watch the friendship of these characters throughout the World War I, but then the pace suddenly starts to rush in the final act, and thus the fall of Damascus is only mentioned off screen, as if the film crew is sprinting to get to the finish line. Maurice Jarre's opening score is pure magic in the opening credits, but is sadly never repeated again. The opening and the ending rhyme: as film critic Zivorad Tomic observes, in the final sequence, Lawrence's entire life is summed up, from what world he created and left behind, how he lived and how he will die (a motorcycle appears again in front of his vehicle). Lean also does not show almost anything about Lawrence's private life outside of this mission, and thus this determinism may puzzle some. Even on Lawrence's funeral in the opening act, nobody knows anything about him outside his Arab revolt. But this ultimately concludes the main theme: some people can accidentally achieve something great in history, a sort of quantum leap in their existence, and then disappear and return back to anonymity and routine, since this is the only thing the world will remember them by, and their role is over. 

Grade:+++