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[When] I saw the letters and diaries of Gertrude Bell, hearing her voice and reading her voice, I immediately knew this was big. It was so big that I had to accept this challenge. And the vehemence in which this great figure came at me was what decided everything. - Werner Herzog

Queen of the Desert is a grand epic exploring the life of Gertrude Bell. Bell abandoned her aristocratic existence in late-19th Century Britain to travel the Middle East, before eventually playing a pivotal role in the crafting of the nations that emerged after the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire.

The film is a deliberate throwback to the large-scale adventure filmmaking of classics such as Lawrence of Arabia 1962 (whose subject even appears in this film, portrayed by Robert Pattinson.) Nicole Kidman embodies Bell with an aura of steely determination that drives her journey, with Herzog's eye for majestic desert vistas as strong as ever.

M | Mature themes