Eine Leidenschaft in der Wüste

My opinions do not flow with the majority in most cases. I tend to lean toward the artsy, imaginative, and different. This movie was reminiscent of Frances Ford's "The Black Stallion" wherein a fantasy situation is created to showcase the beauty of a magnificent creature who's not readily available to view performing at its peak except on these multitudes of documentaries ala natural. Unlike those nature films, this offering utilizes the finest movie making techniques the industry has to offer fit for a diva creating one of the most sensual super stars (the cat) on the screen.

This fantasy depicting the love relationship that develops between a french soldier (he is very nice too) lost on the Egyptian desert and a female leopard he encounters when he chances upon an abandoned Egyptian temple is mesmerizing. I bought into it wholeheartedly. If you are the least bit open to fantasy and appreciate the grace, beauty, power and sensuality of the feline, you should enjoy it.

The only flaw in my book was the ending. It was a perfect set up for a Romeo and Juliet finale - that would have taken me over the top.

"Passion in the Desert" (1998): Adapted from Balzac's novel, filmed on the AMAZING landscapes of Jordan, scored by Jose Nieto, filmed by Alexei Rodionov, and directed by Lavinia Currier, this is one seriously interesting, highly symbolic film. Napolean's soldiers are trying to cross the Sahara, with typical chauvinism to their imperial viewpoints. When two men become lost, all the old habits and rules are turned to cinders under the hot sun. THEN things get interesting… and not as linear or predictable as you will probably expect. Ben Daniels stars as the soldier whose spirit moves through many changes. DO think symbolically for this story. THAT is where the worthwhile meanings are found.

A film about the relationship between a man and leopard that's very reminiscent of "The English Patient," even down to a scene similar to when Ralph Fiennes' character carries the body of his lover across a desert-rock cliff. In "A Passion in the Desert," the main character carries the body of the leopard across a desert-rock cliff but in the opposite direction (calculated decision or unconscious contrast?). Historically expanded from a very short Balzac story, the film is not perfect but a treat no less. Final shot will haunt me for weeks. (8 of 10)

There were several "wrong moments" in this movie. However, despite being the worst overall movie I've ever seen, I recommend drinking heavily and watching it. When I was drunk I laughed so hard that I cried. I guarantee that you will laugh so hard that urine will leak from your body. WEIRDEST MOVIE EVER!!! On a more serious/disturbing note, I'm also stunned at the fact that it's acceptable for this dude to have a love affair with an animal. This leopard is maybe 10 years old. What if this was a 10 year old human? Would it not be more believable that a man would fall in love with a 10 year old human, rather than a 10 year old animal? That being said, I'm considering producing a movie called "Passion in the Daycare."

An excellent story well told by the film maker. The interactions between the man and the leopard brought many questions to the viewers mind about just who was being humane. The humans killed for no reason the animals only to survive. At the end of the movie you were left wondering just who the real "hero" of the movie was. A well told story. The human actor did an excellent job but the leopard stole every scene it was in.