In the hopes of rekindling their marriage, bohemian American couple Port and Kit Moresby set off for North Africa in 1947, intending to travel through Algeria in search of renewal and personal inspiration. They are instead tested to their limits by the emptiness and impassive cruelty of the desert.

Bertolucci followed the success of The Last Emperor (nine Oscars®!) with this gorgeously rendered exploration of a marriage. Shot by the cinematographer of Apocalypse Now and scored by Ryuichi Sakamoto, this lush adaptation of Paul Bowles’s novel warns of the insatiable, romantic allure of escape.