Passion in the Desert
Encyclopedia
Passion in the Desert, or Simoom: A Passion in the Desert, is a 1998 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 directed by Lavinia Currier, the film follows the ventures of a young French officer named Augustin Robert (Ben Daniels
) in late 18th century Egypt during Napoleon Bonaparte
's campaign to capture the country.
has launched an invasion of Egypt. A frail and elderly artist, Jean-Michel Venture de Paradis (Michel Piccoli), has been commissioned by Napoleon to sketch the landscape and monuments of Egypt. French soldier Augustin Robert (Ben Daniels
) has been assigned to keep Venture from being harassed by the other soldiers. The unrelenting burden of this task soon takes its toll on Augustin. Mameluks attack the regiment's small encampment. In the aftermath, Augustin and Venture are now separated from their regiment. Walking in the arid landscape, under the blaze of the desert sun, they begin to suffer an unquenchable thirst.
Augustin abandons Venture, who cannot keep up, but promises to return with aid. Venture, unable to believe that Augustin will return, commits suicide. Augustin wanders aimlessly on his own. His thirst compels him to steal water from native Bedouin
s. Several Bedouin men give him chase in response. He runs to some nearby caves. Augustin escapes death under the most bizarre of circumstances: a leopard, appearing out of nowhere, slays a Bedouin who is about to kill him.
Augustin is initially terrified of the leopard. He is astonished when she gives him food and leads him to water. Augustin and the leopard, whom he has named "Simoom," develop a strange and mysterious relationship. Augustin begins to imitate her behavior. Stripping naked, he paints his body with dirt and sand, seeking to resemble her golden-brown fur and its rosette-shaped markings. For a while they are suspicious and competitive toward each other, but a bond has nevertheless been formed. Augustin finds himself jealous when Simoom goes to mate with another leopard, but she later returns to him.
The bond between Augustin and Simoom is then tested. He saves her from a group of lost French soldiers, who have wandered by and are aiming to kill her for food. Augustin, however, ultimately decides to return to his regiment rather than be branded a deserter or traitor. He dresses again in what is left of his uniform and bicorne
and ties Simoon to a pole, but she escapes. Simoom, enraged by his attempted departure, charges and pounces upon him. He is forced to kill the leopard in self-defense.
Wounded by Simoom and suffering intense heat and thirst, Augustin collapses before he is able to find his regiment. Appearing close to death, he is rescued by a passing Arab on a camel. He is eventually reunited with his troops.
and the ruins in Petra
. Director Lavinia Currier invested 5 million USD of her own money in addition to writing and producing the film. 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 filming, Daniels spent time with a Bedouin family out in the Wadi Rum
to develop a feel for the environment, something that would assist him in his acting.
and Hamza El Din
compiled up to 17 tracks altogether. A DVD
version of the film was released in December 2005.
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of short stories and novels collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the 1815 fall of Napoleon....
titled A Passion in the Desert. The film received a limited theatrical release in 1998 and was directed by Lavinia Currier, the film follows the ventures of a young French officer named Augustin Robert (Ben Daniels
Ben Daniels
Ben Daniels is an English actor. A graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art , he has taken on roles in numerous productions...
) in late 18th century Egypt during Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
's campaign to capture the country.
Plot
In 1798, Napoleon INapoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
has launched an invasion of Egypt. A frail and elderly artist, Jean-Michel Venture de Paradis (Michel Piccoli), has been commissioned by Napoleon to sketch the landscape and monuments of Egypt. French soldier Augustin Robert (Ben Daniels
Ben Daniels
Ben Daniels is an English actor. A graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art , he has taken on roles in numerous productions...
) has been assigned to keep Venture from being harassed by the other soldiers. The unrelenting burden of this task soon takes its toll on Augustin. Mameluks attack the regiment's small encampment. In the aftermath, Augustin and Venture are now separated from their regiment. Walking in the arid landscape, under the blaze of the desert sun, they begin to suffer an unquenchable thirst.
Augustin abandons Venture, who cannot keep up, but promises to return with aid. Venture, unable to believe that Augustin will return, commits suicide. Augustin wanders aimlessly on his own. His thirst compels him to steal water from native Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
s. Several Bedouin men give him chase in response. He runs to some nearby caves. Augustin escapes death under the most bizarre of circumstances: a leopard, appearing out of nowhere, slays a Bedouin who is about to kill him.
Augustin is initially terrified of the leopard. He is astonished when she gives him food and leads him to water. Augustin and the leopard, whom he has named "Simoom," develop a strange and mysterious relationship. Augustin begins to imitate her behavior. Stripping naked, he paints his body with dirt and sand, seeking to resemble her golden-brown fur and its rosette-shaped markings. For a while they are suspicious and competitive toward each other, but a bond has nevertheless been formed. Augustin finds himself jealous when Simoom goes to mate with another leopard, but she later returns to him.
The bond between Augustin and Simoom is then tested. He saves her from a group of lost French soldiers, who have wandered by and are aiming to kill her for food. Augustin, however, ultimately decides to return to his regiment rather than be branded a deserter or traitor. He dresses again in what is left of his uniform and bicorne
Bicorne
The bicorne or bicorn is an archaic form of hat widely adopted in the 1790s as an item of uniform by European and American military and naval officers...
and ties Simoon to a pole, but she escapes. Simoom, enraged by his attempted departure, charges and pounces upon him. He is forced to kill the leopard in self-defense.
Wounded by Simoom and suffering intense heat and thirst, Augustin collapses before he is able to find his regiment. Appearing close to death, he is rescued by a passing Arab on a camel. He is eventually reunited with his troops.
Production
Filming took place in JordanJordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
and the ruins in Petra
Petra
Petra is a historical and archaeological city in the Jordanian governorate of Ma'an that is famous for its rock cut architecture and water conduits system. Established sometime around the 6th century BC as the capital city of the Nabataeans, it is a symbol of Jordan as well as its most visited...
. Director Lavinia Currier invested 5 million USD of her own money in addition to writing and producing the film. 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
Ben Daniels
Ben Daniels is an English actor. A graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art , he has taken on roles in numerous productions...
. Daniels reportedly almost got bitten by the leopard. Prior to filming, Daniels spent time with a Bedouin family out in the Wadi Rum
Wadi Rum
Wadi Rum also known as The Valley of the Moon is a valley cut into the sandstone and granite rock in south Jordan at to the east of Aqaba. It is the largest wadi in Jordan. The name Rum most likely comes from an Aramaic root meaning 'high' or 'elevated'. To reflect its proper Arabic...
to develop a feel for the environment, something that would assist him in his acting.
Soundtrack
The follow-up Passion in the Desert film soundtrack was released in conjunction with the film on June 16, 1998 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000007RUK/. Composers José NietoJosé Nieto
José Nieto , is a Spanish musician and composer, best known for his film work.- Life :Born in Madrid, Spain, in 1943, in 1958 he joined the band "Los Pekenikes", playing the drums. He began his career as a professional musician in 1962 in orchestras and jazz dance groups...
and Hamza El Din
Hamza El Din
Hamza Alaa El Din was a Nubian composer, oud player, tar player, and vocalist.-Early life:Born in the village of Toshka, near Wadi Halfa in southern Egypt, he was originally trained to be an electrical engineer...
compiled up to 17 tracks altogether. A DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
version of the film was released in December 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 El 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 El 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 |
External links
- Official Movie Site
- 'Passion in the Desert' at Rotten Tomatoes.com
- The French Text for "Une Passion Dans le Désert"
- The short story "A Passion in the Desert" by Honoré de Balzac; Translated into English by Ernest Dowson