Passion in the Desert
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Passion in the Desert | |
|---|---|
 Passion in the Desert theatrical poster |
|
| Directed by | Lavinia Currier |
| Produced by | Lavinia Currier Jamil Dehlavi Stephen Dembitzer Joel McCleary Alton Walpole |
| Written by | Lavinia Currier (screenplay) Honoré de Balzac (story) Martin Edmunds (additional script) |
| Starring | Ben Daniels Michel Piccoli Paul Meston Nadia Odeh |
| Music by | Jose Nieto |
| Cinematography | Aleksei Rodionov |
| Editing by | Nicolas Gaster |
| Distributed by | Fine Line Features Warner Home Vídeo (VHS/Brazil) |
| Release date(s) | June 12, 1998 (USA) |
| Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Gross profits | Domestic: $249,682 |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Passion in the Desert, or Simoom: A Passion in the Desert, is a film based on a short story by Honoré de Balzac titled A Passion in the Desert. The film received a limited theatrical release in 1998 and was rated PG-13 by the MPAA for violence, barbarism, and nudity. Directed by Lavinia Currier, the film follows the ventures of a young French officer named Augustin Robert (played by Ben Daniels). The setting takes place in late 18th century Egypt during Napoleon's campaign to capture the country.
Contents |
[edit] Production
Filming took place in Jordan and the ruins in Petra. Director Lavinia Currier invested 5 million USD of her own money in addition to writing and producing the film[1]. Currier used animals that were chosen at birth to be raised with enough human interaction, thereby making the process of filming scenes with the leopard much easier. Despite this, there were some close calls during the making of the movie with actor Ben Daniels. Daniels reportedly almost got bitten by the leopard. Prior to making the film, Daniels spent time with a Bedouin family out in the Wadi Rum to develop a feel for the environment, something that would assist him as he acted out his parts [2].
[edit] Plot
The year is 1798. Assigned to protect artist Jean-Michel Venture de Paradis (Michel Piccoli) who is commissioned by Napoleon to sketch the landscape and monuments of Egypt, Frenchman Augustin Robert (Ben Daniels) deals with the hassles of keeping the slow, weak and frail elderly Venture from being harrassed by other French troops in the expedition to conquer the country. Augustin eventually decides to leave Venture but promises to send help after suffering through a deadly Mameluke attack on their camp, a brutal sandstorm, the blazing sun and then the thirst. Venture commits suicide a little while later. Augustin soon finds himself wandering through the desert aimlessly and the thirst forces him to steal water from native Bedouin inhabitants. Several Bedouin men give chase in response, but Augustin escapes with his life only after a leopard appears out of nowhere and saves his life by killing one of the Bedouins.
The leopard decides not to kill Augustin but insteads gives him food and shows him water. Augustin and the leopard develop a strange and mysterious relationship which brings Augustin to almost imitate the leopard, down to the nudity and body paint like a wild animal. The two at first seem to quarrel with each other and compete, but a bond arises. Augustin even becomes jealous when he sees the leopard, who he has now named "Simoom", hanging around with another leopard instead of him.
Their friendship is tested when Augustin chooses to save Simoom's life from a group of lost French soldiers wandering by aiming to kill it for food. Augustin in the end decides to return back to his regiment rather than be branded as a deserter or a traitor. He immediately begins to dress up with what is left of his French uniform and bicorne. Simoom takes offense at this and charges at Augustin who ends up killing the animal.
Augustin collapses under the intense heat, thirst and his physical wounds done by Simoom before he can return back to the French. Augustin appears close to death. He is picked up by a passing Arab on camel and finally reunited with his fellow troops.
[edit] Merchandise
The follow up Passion in the Desert film soundtrack was released in conjunction with the film on June 16, 1998[3]. Composers Hamzo Al-Din and Jose Nieto compiled up to 17 tracks altogether. The DVD version of the film was released in December of 2005.
| Song | Composer |
|---|---|
| The Lost City | by Jose Nieto |
| Simoon | by Jose Nieto |
| Chase Near The Lost City | by Jose Nieto |
| A Dream | by Jose Nieto |
| Helalisa | by Hamza Al Din |
| The Shepherd Boy | by Jose Nieto |
| The Attack Of The Mamelucs | by Jose Nieto |
| A Night In The Lost City | by Jose Nieto |
| Avoiding The Beast | by Jose Nieto |
| Ollin Arageed | by Hamza Al Din |
| The Painter | by Jose Nieto |
| A Friend | by Jose Nieto |
| Alone (The Painter's Death) | by Jose Nieto |
| The Desert | by Jose Nieto |
| Walking In Circles (Lost In The Desert) | by Jose Nieto |
| The Leopard (Infidelity) | by Jose Nieto |
| The End Of A Passion | by Jose Nieto |
[edit] See Also
[edit] External links
- The short story "A Passion in the Desert" by Honoré de Balzac; Translated into English by Ernest Dowson
- Official Movie Site
- 'Passion in the Desert' at Rotten Tomatoes.com
