Letters from Baghdad

Long before there were guide books and people trekked through the Middle East, Gertrude Bell travelled on a camel through desert areas only inhabited by roving bandit chieftains. She kept meticulous notes of the various tribes, their relationships, and even carried an expensive transit/theodolite. She developed a very strong attachment to the area and its peoples. This was an age of great exploration, witness Col. Fawcett exploring the Amazon. What all these explorers developed was an intense and passionate interest in the places they visited. They learned the languages and studied the habits of the people.

The directors tell the story of Gertrude Bell's time in Mesopotamia or modern day Iraq through her many letters. They are absolutely fascinating in that not only is her interior life and feelings revealed, but a good deal of information about the political and social conditions in the empire at that time. I believe the directors were smart to stick to the letters and make them the focus of the story. The documentary is brilliant in what it doesn't say. The viewer can make up their own minds, the information is pretty overwhelming. What I found most fascinating were the monuments and historical objects that were uncovered. They indicate far earlier and complex civilizations that had a grasp of our place in nature and in the cosmos. Bell went to great lengths to establish a museum to preserve these artifacts to man's origin. Curiously both T. E. Lawrence and Gertrude Bell both had rather violent ends. One by an untimely motorcycle accident and the other by an overdose.

When I saw the DVD for "Letter from Baghdad" on Netflix, I initially dismissed it, as I had little interest in hearing about letters from soldiers during the recent war. However, despite the title, the show from "American Experience" is NOT about the recent Iraq War but but about a most unusual woman, Gertrude Bell, and her love of the Middle East (not just Iraq)...in the early 20th century! So, be careful...this film might not be what you're expecting.

The show is about the life of Gertrude Bell, a most unusual woman who was apart from her time. While most women of her class dreamed of a successful marriage and family, Gertrude went to Oxford and excelled there. And, after graduation, moved to the Middle East and lived there most of the rest of her life. Why this is important is that during WWI, the British knew very little about these people...and Gertrude already had befriended many of the desert chieftans and their people. Her knowledge and respect for them was instrumental during the war...and following it, at least for a time it was respected.

This is an interesting show and was made available because of the saved correspondences from Gertrude. And, like you'd expect with a PBS documentary, it's extremely well made with some top talent to sub for the voices of these long deceased people. My only quibble is that the show seemed to fall flat when it came to actually making anything of Bell's life and work...what was the lasting impact, what were the mistakes and what were the benefits of her life? Well, that is something the film really didn't do well. Interesting...but a bit short in this regard.

And a great documentary about her. The period photos and movies are astonishing and well presented. Nicole Kidman played her. But this is authentic. Tilda Swinton's narration as Gertrude Bell Is perfect.

... and it is the only reason I knock even one star off, because for what it is, this is a perfect documentary.

Based on the title, I assumed it was going to be about something relatively recent, such as letters from soldiers in Iraq over the last two decades. To my surprise it was a more distant history lesson going back over 100 years.

It was presented ala Ken Burns style with old photos of the period accompanied by voice actors reading the words of various historical figures, centering on the journal of a young, affluent, well educated, and quite atypically adventurous, late Victorian era British lass, Gertrude Bell, who began traveling in the middle east at a young age, learned Arabic, fell in-love with the various Arab cultures, and encountered a host of notable personages including T.E. Lawrence himself. Evidently her forward thinking attitude and influence endeared her to many of the local tribes while stirring up distrust in the old Ottoman Empire, who considered her a British spy.

Because of her accumulated vast Middle East knowledge, as WW1 approached, she (not unlike T.E.) was eventually put to work in the British Foreign Affairs Office, but, because she was a woman, most of the places to which she was assigned undervalued her and didn't quite know how to best employ her talents. She lost the love of her life during the failed effort at Gallipoli in 1915. His loss Left her devoted to the one thing that they had shared and mutually loved, the Middle East. Like Lawrence, she was an early advocate for an independent Arab State, and both during and after WW1, her empathetic understanding of the various ethnic and religious cultures including Arab and Jewish populations made her a trusted mediator among many of the indigenous people and a growing necessity for the British Empire.

The British had realized early on that transitioning from coal to oil would be essential to fuel their merchant fleets and the navy providing security for their massive empire, and that oil was plentiful in the middle east. So, when the allied powers gained post war control in the region, they promptly began carving up the area to best suit their purposes. The European goal was the establishment of loyal vassal kingdoms who would allow perpetual access to their most highly valued and as yet under exploited commodity, oil. Along with creating Saudi Arabia and a host of smaller Arab states, they also gave birth to Iraq. So Ms. Bell, with the best of intentions, was still used by all parties involved. Thus, in this historical retrospective, she can rightfully be called an unintentional founder of the modern Middle East, with all of its problems.

Highly recommended as a documentary on a key piece of Mideast history that is not known very well.

This is head and shoulders above any other Gertrude movie or documentary.

Knowing Gertrude Bell and her history helps explain how today's middle east is divided into the countries we see today.

The documentary is well designed with films of the times and places with still pictures of Gertrude, family, friends, and acquaintances. We also get original music and even Joshua Bell to accompany the narration. When Gertrude's letters are read Tilda Swinton is the voice of Gertrude.

For viewers in the U. S. A., you may need to use a region free DVD player. Even though there is no subtitle track there are subtitles built into the presentation at crucial moments.