A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia - Synopsis

Synopsis

The film starts with a quote from Lawrence's book Seven Pillars of Wisdom which is used for the title of the film:

"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream in the dark recesses of the night awake in the day to find all was vanity. But the dreamers of day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, and make it possible."

Feisal arrives at the post-war Paris Peace Conference (1919) to claim Syria for Arab rule after the break-up of the Ottoman Empire. He is delayed by French diplomats uncertain of his intentions. Lawrence joins Feisal's negotiating staff despite attempts by the French (and British) to exclude the Arabs altogether. (The only country portrayed sympathetically is the United States, with Woodrow Wilson’s dictum to let the locals decide for themselves, in terms of self-government for colonial and territorial areas.) Lawrence defends Feisal’s claim to Syria by citing previous British offerings to Feisal’s father in a “secret letter”, as well as their joint triumphant march into Damascus against the Turks. Feisal's main demand is for Syria to be governed by Arabs. France has a stake there, however, and has made previous colonial agreements with Great Britain which complicate matters.

Lawrence's newly gained popularity after World War I poses a further complication, as popular movies promote him, a white European, as the "Uncrowned King of Arabia". The wartime friendship between him and Feisal is thereby strained. As negotiations reach a peak, Lawrence is called away to his dying father’s bedside. He arrives too late to see his father alive, and must leave too soon to see him buried.

Throughout the film, Lawrence is shown writing what would become his life's work, Seven Pillars of Wisdom. As in the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia and many biographies, the film suggests that Lawrence favors relationships with men over women. Ralph Fiennes plays Lawrence as hesitant in the public eye, smiling when forced to, knowing when to be hard in his negotiations, and completely alien to the world of women.