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My second date with Passion in the Desert... or Eat your Heart Out Patrick!

Posted by Victor Khomenko (M) on January 16, 2003 at 07:03:24

I finally got the tape of that film that I loves so much a couple of years back, when it was shown on the cable.

This is the work of the famous director Lavinia Currier, who brought us... brought us... amazingly - nothing else. One film... How could that be, for the work is mature and inspiring? Perhaps Patrick, being closer to the bullseye will be able to shed some light at this, as imdb has absolutely no info on her.

The film is the most unusual one. Based on a little known Balzac novel it describes the strange friendship between the lost Napoleon officer and a leopard in the Egyptian desert.

I remember being completely taken with it the first time I saw it. I also only saw a part, being the victim to the merciless cable schedule.

To say this is a beautiful film is like to suggest Tolstoy is not a bad writer. For it is all of that: beautiful, emotional, poetic and more.

Never mind that the story is artificial - as it is simply the vehicle upon which beautiful images and camerawork are posted. And here we stumble over an incredible discovery.

The man behind the camera is none other than Alexei Rodionov.

Humbug, you say, who on Earth is Alexei? Needless to say he is a Russian with very good track record. His most known work is easily the contravercial "Idi i Smotri" (Come and See) that truly shocked the West with its thick imagery.

Rodionov has a great opportunity in this film, as the scenery is naturally beautiful, and the beast... well, words are powerless to describe the grace and the elegance of the desert leopard.

So what Rodionov does is simply keep it intact, let the natural beauty speak for itself, without intruding on it. And what a marvelous result he produces!

The film is not perfect. In some spots it loses the smooth momentum and almost stumbles, but these are all very minor faults.

One can not approach it as one would say, 2001... for this is what the very poetry is made of, symbols and understated beauty, the interplay of images, and no plot to speak of.

I am a sucker for the Napoleonic wars history, so this film gave me interesting opportunity to get submerged in it. And the stickler in me could not help by notice some strange things. Our hero's uniform is a hodge-podge of period pieces, losely put together. He wears mostly the armly uniform, but spruced up with the Hussar braids, dolman and sabretache. Hmmmmmm.... In addition, while the action takes place during the Napoleon's African campaign, the hero wears what looks like the Model 1822 sword, albeit worn with the early days infantry baldric. These were funny faults and in no way distracting, though.

For someone who appreciates movies as art, this is a wonderful film. There is no social agenda, no captivating plot and no stars. But there is mastery, imagination and beauty galore.

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