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When it was released in 1998,
Passion in the Desert was largely dismissed by critics, many of whom derided the film as silly, pretentious, or altogether misguided by first-time director Lavinia Currier. It's a pity, because this is the kind of mesmerizing, mostly nonverbal film that weaves its own particular spell on receptive viewers. Based on a novella by the great French writer Honoré de Balzac and set in Egypt in 1798, the story focuses on Augustin (played by British actor Ben Daniels), a soldier in Napoleon's army who is separated from his unit and lost in the desert. There he encounters a female leopard and, as the title suggests, the film daringly develops a relationship between man and beast--a relationship that may push the boundaries of credibility for many viewers, but which works in the strange, otherworldly context of the story. It's best to accept the film on its own terms--a film about a man reduced to his purest basic instincts, or a parable that should not be confused for any kind of literal reality. Otherwise, the film will surely seem as odd and silly as naysaying critics said it was.
As a rookie director (after directing theater and working for the Merchant-Ivory production team), Currier seems uncertain of precisely what kind of film she's attempting, and the result is uneven in its narrative thrust. But Passion in the Desert is triumphant as a sensual and sensory experience, casting its spell through magnificent cinematography (on locations in Petra, Jordan and Moab, Utah), and the purity of its visual narrative. Obviously chosen for his own feline features, Daniels deserves credit for playing so convincingly with his sleek, spotted co-star (actually, three leopards were used during filming), and the leopard itself is majestically graceful and fascinating to watch. This is a film to be savored not as a rich and altogether satisfying story (which bears thematic resemblance to Walkabout), but as a film full of magical moments, hypnotic in its beauty and its depiction of nature, both soothing and savage. --Jeff Shannon
