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Algerian director Mohamed Chouikh set this Romeo and Juliet-themed tale in the Sahara: Young impoverished Amin (Hacen Abdou) and Myriam (Myriam Aouffen), from a wealthy family, are taken by surprise when they are found kissing in the dunes. Long-established religious traditions set various rivalries in motion, tearing the young lovers apart and creating turmoil in the village. At the time this film was released, there had been a series of massacres in Algeria, and Chouikh has explored all the social, religious, political, and geographical forces behind the wanton violence in his native land, in this allegory of two communities at war over a simple, innocent act of love. This Algerian-French-German co-production was shown at the 1997 Locarno Film Festival.