Le Désert des Tartares (1976)

Le Désert des Tartares is an Italian-French war film first released in 1976, directed by Valerio Zurlini.  The film is based on a novel by Dino Buzzati and stars Vittorio Gassman, Giuliano Gemma, Helmut Griem, Philippe Noiret and Jacques Perrin.  It has also been released under the title: Il Deserto dei tartari.  Our overall rating for this film is: good.


A young soldier, Lieutenant Drogo, is assigned to a remote desert fortress, which is manned by a small army against the possibility of an invasion from Tartar nomads.   There hasn’t been an attack for decades, and Drogo soon grows bored of the tedium of waiting for action which never comes...

This is the last film from the great (and sadly underrated) Italian film director Valerio Zurlini.  It is also one of his better films, presenting a starkly vivid portrayal of one man’s experiences as a soldier living under extreme pressures.

The film’s main selling point is the quality of the photography.  The pictures of the vast desert expanse contrast with the strangely claustrophobic feel of the fortress.  The film’s use of colour is captivating, imbuing the film with a dreamscape quality which enables us to get beneath the skin of its central character, the unfortunate Lieutenant Drogo.  We do not just see the man’s disintegration – which is pretty moving in its own right – but we understand what is causing it.

The film’s length is a little off-putting, particularly when most of the film is concerned with the endless waiting game the soldiers have to endure.  Although, for the most part, this sense of ennui is conveyed with some beautiful and melancholic photography of the countryside, the film does occasionally resort to irritating padding, such as protracted and repetitive introductions.  Familiar faces such as Trintingant and Noiret offer some light relief in some impressive but minor character roles, but it left to the lesser known actor, Jacques Perrin, to carry the film in his role as Drogo.  This he achieves with some degree of success, but he probably lacks presence for such a pivotal role and he is never entirely convincing.

Although the film has its shortcomings, it is a visually impressive and moving piece of Franco-Italian cinema, somewhat over-long, yet ultimately satisfying.

© James Travers 1999

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