Theeb, one of five movies nominated for Best Foreign Language Picture at this year’s Academy Awards, is about a boy, a desert and a camel. It’s also, arguably, the best of the five, an entrancing, unpredictable and at times intense drama set in the Middle East during World War I.

Jacir Eid Al-Hwietat delivers a fine performance as young Theeb, a Bedouin boy who, along with his older brother, is escorting a British officer to an undisclosed location. When they are ambushed at a watering hole, however, Theeb is forced to make his own decisions to survive in the volatile region.

I went into Theeb not knowing a single thing about it—I hadn’t even seen the movie poster—and was pleasantly surprised. The first act is simply poetic, filmed beautifully by director and co-writer Naji Abu Nowar, but when shit goes down at the watering hole, the film ratchets up considerably and the film’s purpose becomes clear. In essence, Theeb is a survival film, but not in the traditional sense. And if anything else, the film’s final, powerful scene speaks to the seemingly unbreakable cycle of violence and cultural obligation that has marred the region for centuries—and the West’s general indifference to it.

Theeb is in many ways a simple movie with simple execution—far removed from the existential Embrace of the Serpent or fast-moving Son of Saul, for example—but set against a beautiful landscape of sand and rock and featuring an enthralling and personal story, it is the most engaging and entertaining of the five Oscar-nominated foreign language pictures.

Review by Erik Samdahl. Erik is a marketing and technology executive by day, avid movie lover by night. He is a member of the Seattle Film Critics Society.