In Desert and Wilderness (2001 film)

In Desert and Wilderness (Polish: W pustyni i w puszczy) is a 2001 Polish film directed by Gavin Hood.[2] Adapted from the 1911 novel In Desert and Wilderness by Henryk Sienkiewicz,[3] it tells the story of two children, Staś Tarkowski and Nel Rawlison, kidnapped by the rebels during Mahdi's rebellion in Sudan.

In Desert and Wilderness
Movie poster
Directed byGavin Hood
Written byGavin Hood
Based onIn Desert and Wilderness by Henryk Sienkiewicz
Produced byWaldemar Dziki, Włodzimierz Otulak
StarringKarolina Sawka
Adam Fidusiewicz
Mzwandile Ngubeni
Lungile Shongwe
CinematographyJacek Januszyk
Music byKrzesimir Dębski
Release date
  • 2001 (2001)
Running time
111 minutes
CountryPoland
LanguagePolish
Budget$4.2 million
Box office2.2 million admissions (Poland)[1]

Production

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Filming took three months. It was filmed in South Africa and Tunisia. The original director, Maciej Dutkiewicz, fell ill at the very beginning of filming and his role was taken by Hood. A miniseries version of the film was later broadcast in 2002.[4] Its content differed from the book and the film was said to be more modern, notably in its depiction of intercultural relationships. The film enjoyed considerable success.

Music

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The soundtrack for the film was composed by Krzesimir Dębski with Beata Kozidrak's song Rzeka marzeń (River of Dreams) recorded in 2000 chosen as the theme for the film.[5]

Cast

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Reception

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With 2.2 million admissions, it was the second most popular Polish film of the year behind Quo Vadis.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Hollender, Barbara (24 December 2001). "Homegrown pix gain in Europe". Variety. p. 7.
  2. ^ "W pustyni i w puszczy (film)". FilmPolski (in Polish).
  3. ^ "Biography and Book Database of Henryk Sienkiewicz". Culture. Archived from the original on 27 June 2012.
  4. ^ "W pustyni i w puszczy (miniseries)". FilmPolski (in Polish).
  5. ^ Kozidrak, Beata (2021). Beata. Gorąca krew. Wydawnictwo Agora. ISBN 978-83-268-3662-6.
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