Passion In The Desert review

"You can't get lost in Egypt, there's the Nile and there's the sea." Oh dear. Thirty minutes later and Napoleonic soldier Augustin Robert (Daniels) is cut off from his troop, desperately seeking water and falling in love with a leopard. That's right. Falling in love with a leopard.

Don't be put off: the scenes where the lonely and starving man seeks companionship with the big feline are fascinating. He hugs, licks and even kisses the ladybeast. He doesn't quite get it on, but when the male of the species turns up, it's enough to send him doolally with jealousy. Daniels is great - when he keeps his mouth shut - - but irritating, and glaringly non-French, when he opens it to leadenly over-emphasise the sparse dialogue.

Nevertheless, this is intriguing and unsettling. Passion In The Desert flirts - - as the inevitable tragedy nears - - on that fine line between pretentious bollocks and being a haunting, curiously moving film.