In Desert and Wilderness (Polish: W pustyni i w puszczy) is a 2001 Polish film directed by Gavin Hood. Adapted from the 1911 novel In Desert and Wilderness by Henryk Sienkiewicz, it tells the story of two children, Staś Tarkowski and Nel Rawlison, kidnapped by the rebels during Mahdi's rebellion in Sudan.
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Production
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. 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
The soundtrack for the film was composed by Krzesimir Dębski. The theme song was Beata Kozidrak's 2000 song Rzeka marzeń (River of Dreams).
Cast
Karolina Sawka as Nel Rawlison
Adam Fidusiewicz as Staś Tarkowski
Artur Żmijewski as Władysław Tarkowski (Staś's father)
Andrzej Strzelecki as George Rawlinson (Nel's father)
Mzwandile Ngubeni as Kali
Lungile Shongwe as Mea
Konrad Imiela as Chamis
Lotfi Dziri as Gebhr
Ahmed Hafiane as Idrys
Krzysztof Kowalewski as Kalioupoli
Krzysztof Kolberger as Linde
Agnieszka Pilaszewska as Madame Olivier
Hichem Rostom as Mahdi
Reception
With 2.2 million admissions, it was the second most popular Polish film of the year behind Quo Vadis.