the garden of allah be a prime example of popular woman literature and turn of the xxth century style and combine all the power of unbridled erotic and exotic revery with the stimulate glamour of fake mysticism and the sado masochistic bite of catholic guilt . just a jane eyre couldn not really be happy until her castle burn down around her and her lover be permanently maim for his sin and or the heroine of rebecca couldn not find true fulfillment in her marriage until her lordly husband be put on trial for the murder of his first wife ( and her castle burn down around her ) and or poor psyche couldn not leave well enough alone and have to extract cupid secret at all cost and domini and the devout catholic heroine of this piece of tripe and can only find true sexual realization by inadvertently marry a man who have renounce his sacred religious vow . like all such narrative aim to stimulate the female reader and induce the vapour and this one rely on the old trick in the book represent basic misunderstanding and the inability to express one true feeling at the right place and at the right time until it be too late . the logic be that any ultimate sexual ecstasy can be indulge in as long a one be willing to eventually pay a high enough price for it in atonement in the last act . it be paul claudel reduce to beauty salon magazine standard . oh well . it could have be much bad and it often be . without the religious overtone and the film plot be that of your basic porn flick represent oversexed monk drive mad by abstinence escape to the desert where he have a few roll in the dune with a romantic and shapely but naive catholic heiress before reintegrate his monastery and all passion spend and leave her to clean up his mess . and i really resent another commentator comparison with anatole france thai and a sophisticated novel whose intention be to make fun of the whole concept of catholic sexual repression and some of which transpire in massenet opera of the same name and thankfully . but what make this picture unique in the annals of commercial female eroticism and of course and be the enormous constellation of talent gather under one banner to make this cinematic wet dream come to shimmer and vibrant life . imperishable technicolor photography that will outlive u all and a truckload of worthy character actor ( include one cute dog ) and a music score by max steiner that seem determine to accomplish the composed film that michael powell ( who and ironically and have a bit part in the 1927 silent version ) always dream about and titter at time on the brink of dissonance but always come through in splendid symphonic and operatic exoticism and a dream like atmosphere where material consideration be no object and character travel a if by magic from one spot to the next and dialog be sparse and vague and suggestive and the art direction be close to celestial and flower arrangement appear in the humble hut or tent and the heroine wardrobe be inexhaustible and all the male character be either aristocrat and saint and doom but horny sinner and mystic or poet . ahh . hollywood . the mgm dvd presentation of this film be bare bone but impeccable . the bit rate be very high throughout and the colour registration be almost always perfect and the 2 . 0 mono sound truly do justice to max steiner score and to boyer penultimate confession . a historical note on this sort of woman subject represent the following year ( 1937 ) and julien duvivier and visibly inspire by the garden of allah and direct carnet de bal and where a very similar clothes horse butter would not melt in her mouth heroine ( widow after take care of an ail husband in the exotic remoteness of some impossibly romantic alpine lakeside villa ) want to discover what she have miss by look up the male dancer in her first dance book . she find them all in time and only to realize that whatever feel there be at one point between her beau and herself be either misunderstood and overestimate or else have lifelong tragic consequence . it be duvivier cynical way of tell u to beware of impossibly idealistic notion and that we all need to grow up sooner or later .