Educational Media Reviews Online

Thomas Edward Lawrence, better known as “Lawrence of Arabia” fought with a band of Bedouin desert fighters in the Middle East during World War I. He helped the Arab people throw off the yoke of Turkish rule with his daring guerilla tactics. He wrote of his exploits in his book “The Seven Pillars of Wisdom”. In it he described his raids across the unforgiving deserts which we all probably remember from the famous feature film under his nickname. Because he claimed to have made these treks in such short time, an Arab scholar Michael Asher, his wife and local Bedouins attempt to trace his route to prove finally that the book’s claims are true. They use camels and are similarly equipped and dressed like Lawrence while trying to match his speed across the desert.

If you enjoy watching camels walk across wastelands you might enjoy this film, but without more background to what part Lawrence’s played in the larger conflict of World War I it is hard to care whether he made his treks in X number of days or not. There is no discussion of why he did those particular raids nor why he was a unique leader besides the fact he was one of the few Westerners in that part of the conflict. The film actually descends into a “yes he did, no he didn’t” argument between Asher and an Arab who believes his book was all lies. As dry as the desert, this film is not recommended.