Omar Mukhtar – Löwe der Wüste (1980)

Omar Mukhtar – Löwe der Wüste: Directed by Moustapha Akkad. With Anthony Quinn, Oliver Reed, Irene Papas, Raf Vallone. In 1929, Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini appoints General Rodolfo Graziani as colonial governor to Italian Libya with orders to stamp-out all resistance from Libyan nationalists led by rebel guerrilla leader Omar Mukhtar.

“Prelude to WWII. Omar Mukhtar, a brilliant Bedouin leader, wages war against oppressive Italian Fascist forces (led by the bloodthirsty General Graziani) in his native Lybia.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDirector Moustapha Akkad (The Message) clearly learnt a few lessons from u0026quot;Lawrence of Arabiau0026quot;, mainly how best to use the charismatic Anthony Quinn. As Mukhtar, Quinn gives a nuanced portrayal of compassion and wisdom. Whenever he features in a scene, it becomes impossible to tear oneu0026#39;s eyes off the screen. Thankfully, Oliver Reed proves a magnificently cruel and seething counterpoint as General Graziani. Irene Papas provides strong supporting work and Rod Steiger turns in a delightful cameo as Benito Musslini.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMoustapha Akkad uses a solid structure and keeps it riveting throughout, extracting fine performances from all his actors and technical collaborators. Where u0026quot;The Messageu0026quot; was impressive but cold (due to its invisible hero and reverence), u0026quot;Lion in the Desertu0026quot; has an emotional core and throws up scene after impressive scene. The desert battle scenes are incredibly messy and savage and have a sense of multiple individual action amid chaos, rather than elaborate choreography. This perfectly suits the theme of Bedouin guerrilla. Production values are considerable and Maurice Jarre provides one of his most underrated scores.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSome viewers will find qualms with the fact that, despite the coda that proclaims that Lybia managed to liberate itself, the country was then for long under the oppressive rule of Kadaffi. In truth, this little addition might have something to do with the fact that Kadaffi assisted in funding the film. If you can overlook this (not to difficult), you can appreciate the true focus: Mukhtar. This remains a beautiful film about a peopleu0026#39;s resistance.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Lion in the Desertu0026quot; is an important film, if only because it offers a very accessible (to Western audiences) Arab perspective. It is also impressively well made: an accomplished chapter in the era of great epics that flourished with David Leanu0026#39;s masterpieces and ended with Richard Attenbourghu0026#39;s Gandhi.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSee this!”