Passion in the Desert is a 1997 film written and directed by Lavinia Currier, based on the Honoré de Balzac novella "A Passion in the Desert."
In 1798, Augustin Roberts (Ben Daniels) is a French soldier participating in the invasion of Egypt by Napoléon Bonaparte. He is separated from his regiment, along with artist Venture (Michel Piccoli). When Venture can't keep up with him, he tells Venture to wait for him to get help and continues alone. Starving and dehydrated, he stumbles into a canyon, where he meets a female leopard who leads him to water and shares her food with him. Augustin names the leopard Simoom and forms a strange bond with her.
Passion in the Desert contains examples of:
- Bedouin Rescue Service: The movie opens with Bedouins discovering a dehydrated and injured Augustin lying in the desert and bringing him back to civilization for medical treatment. The rest of the movie shows how he ended up in that situation.
- Casting Gag: Michel Piccoli had played in another film about the 1798 campaign of Napoleon in Egypt prior to this one, 1985's Adieu Bonaparte.
- Cradling Your Kill: Augustin, afraid of being deemed a deserter and shot, decides to leave Simoom and rejoin his regiment. He ties her to a column and promises her he'll be back. Simoom, enraged at being tied up and abandoned, gets loose and attacks him. Augustin strangles her to save himself. He holds her body, crying.
- Dedication: Dedicated to all wild mammals.
- God Guise: The Bedouins near the canyons think Augustin and Simoom are jinns. They bring gifts of milk and goats so the jinns will bring them luck.
- Going Native: Augustin starts to mimic Simoon's behavior. He grooms her by licking her, clambers about on all fours, and even covers himself with mud and paints black spots on himself to look like her.
- Male Frontal Nudity: Augustin starts going naked during his time with Simoom.
- Mercy Kill: When Augustin's horse collapses from dehydration, he shoots it in the head.
- One-Woman Wail: Featured heavily on the soundtrack.
- Say My Name: Augustin watches jealously from a ledge as Simoom frolics with a male leopard. He yells, "Simoooom!" at the two of them.
- Thirsty Desert: Augustin is enraged to learn that Venture used the last of their water to mix paints. Venture eventually becomes desperate enough to drink his paints.
- What a Drag: When Mameluks attack Augustin's regiment, one of them drags a French soldier by a rope behind his horse.
