PASSION IN THE DESERT
Reviewed by Harvey Karten, Ph.D. Fine Line Features/Roland Films Director: Lavinia Currier Writer: Lavinia Currier, Martin Edmunds, novella by Balzac Cast:Ben Daniels, Michel Piccoli, Paul Meston, Kenneth Collard, Nadi Odeh
Honore de Balzac's novella "A Passion in the Desert," adapted for the screen by Lavinia Currier, gives new resonance to the term, "Come on in; the water's fine." Filmed in Petra, Jordan and in Moab, Utah to represent the Egyptian desert, the story takes place in 1798 during Napoleon's bungled Egyptian campaign and focuses on a French captain who underwent an adventure with which Maupintour could never compete. What's more he paid nothing for the escapade and nothing for clothing, though he did have to put up with some awfully catty comments about his demeanor.
The film's themes are as eclectic as its production. Production-wise, though "Passion in the Desert" hones in on a batallion of the French legions in Egypt, the men (even Michel Piccoli) speak English, the French captain is British, and while the Egyptian desert might have been a fine backdrop, director Currier threw sand in Mubarek's face by filming in Jordan and Utah. Thematically the narrative is in part a philosophic meditation on the enigmas of nature, with a targeted audience of both fable-loving children and contemplative adults, in part a study of reason vs. emotion, and in part a contrast between European and Near Eastern cultures. There is little dialogue and even less plot: this is not a criticism. Currier exploits the motion picture genre for what it does best, which is to impart stark imagery to get its points across. While some of the more riveting segments cross the screen, you'll be tempted to phone the makers of National Geographic films and advise them to see the picture. Currier does not rely on Geographic's pretentious anthropologists and didactic commentary to command our concentration.
Written by Balzac at the beginning of the Nineteenth Century, "Passion in the Desert" follows a ragtag division of French forces trudging through the barren Egyptians sands convinced by their Enlightenment views that they cannot get lost. After all, there's the Nile over here and the ocean over there, or so believes Captain Augustin Robert (Ben Daniels), who is escorting artist Jean-Michel Venture de Paradis (Michel Piccoli) through hostile territory. Venture's assignment is to sketch what he can of Egypt's art while Augustin must do what he can to stop the philistine French soldiers from blowing up aspects of Egyptian culture that they meet along the route. When a sudden fight erupts between fierce Marmaluke warriors and the European intruders, Augustin and Venture lose each other, and when Venture shoots himself, Augustin is left alone at the mercy of nature and a Bedouin fighting force.
Near death from thirst and hiding in a cave from a band of Marmalukes, Augustin encounters a feral leopard who, fortunately for Augustin, prefers Egyptian food to French. For reasons known only to feline psychologists, the big cat takes a liking to the lost soldier, leads him to water, shares his food with the young man, and allows itself to be petted.
"Passion in the Desert" turns around the expected convention of man subjugating beast as Augustin becomes part of the leopard's world, even stripping what remains of his uniform and crawling naked on all fours packed with facial make-up. What happens ultimately to this relationship is almost predictable, the film's conclusion posing a trenchant inquiry into man's role in nature. One scene, which could have some uptight parents wishing they had not taken their six-year-olds to the movie, displays Augustin erotically caressing the spotted animal whom he has named Simoon. Augustin's is the sort of adventure that most of us will never have. We have given up the itinerary of the solitary traveler who places himself at the forbearance of nature at its most spartan and spacious in return for the comfort and swaddling security of the five-star hotel with well-organized, terminally crowded safaris.
Ben Daniels has a commanding presence in letting out the feline in himself and the three trained cats--who had proved perilously unpredictable working on the set with Daniels-- move with the grace of undomesticated animals who perpetually savor the joys of the hunt. The parable is professionally lensed by the Russian cinematographer, Alexei Rodionov with an exotic soundtrack of Arabic music by the Spanish composer Jose Nieto. PG-13. Running time: 93 minutes. (C) Harvey Karten 1998
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