Hotter Than July
By John Farr

Like most people, in the dog days of summer I am attracted to water, that precious resource that seems even more so in the season’s blazing heat. And after I cool off with a swim, I find myself drawn to movies that reflect the stifling temperature — and our human condition. Here then are four sizzling films on this theme that should quench your thirst for quality indoor recreation.

Sahara (1943): It makes sense to lead with a desert picture. In the Second World War, after the fall of Tobruk in Libya, Sgt. Joe Gunn (Humphrey Bogart) and his remaining men, including soldiers Jimmy Doyle (Dan Duryea) and Waco Hoyt (Bruce Bennett), traveling in a tank seek refuge in the blistering desert, picking up straggling allies and two POWs. They are fortunate to reach a fortress which holds a limited quantity of that crucial commodity: water. A superior German force arrives. Gunn must hold them off until British reinforcements arrive. This gritty, gutsy war picture vividly evokes the risks and hazards of desert warfare, while showcasing Bogie in his prime, on the front lines of battle. The distinctive Duryea is less laconic than usual playing the loyal Jimmy, while character actor J. Carroll Naish lends poignancy as an Italian prisoner caught in a war not of his own making.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966): Widely considered the best of Sergio Leone’s iconic spaghetti western trilogy, “Good” has now been re-mastered to pristine glory, with some lost footage re-inserted. Eastwood returns as “The Man with No Name” in this tale of three men’s desperate hunt for a cache of confederate gold along the arid Texas/New Mexico border during the Civil War. These hombres are certainly not working together, even when they appear to be. Eastwood must contend with slimy bandit Tuco (Eli Wallach), and the two men take turns leaving each other in the desert. Completing the trio is ruthless killer Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef). Who’ll find the gold first, and just as important, who’ll get to keep it? Yes, the film is long at three hours, but the stars, Leone’s magic camera and that famous Morricone score will still hold you hostage throughout. Wallach truly steals it as the sublimely comic Tuco in this classic western, truly worth its weight in gold.

Walkabout (1974): After a horrific incident leaves them stranded in the sweltering Australian Outback, a 14-year-old English schoolgirl (Jenny Agutter) and her younger brother flee the spot where they’ve been picnicking with their father. After days of wandering, they encounter a teenage Aborigine on “walkabout,” a coming-of-age ritual that involves surviving alone off the land. Together, the three youths embark on a journey of discovery that leaves none of them unchanged. This visually stunning, often surreal story put Roeg, a highly accomplished cinematographer, on the map as director. Interlacing jarring, primal images of the Outback terrain with the narrative of three homegrown children in the wilderness, “Walkabout” is at once art film, nature documentary and mesmerizing fable. David Gulpili, playing the kangaroo-spearing, boomerang-slinging native, is arresting to watch — especially when he performs a mating dance for Agutter. Roeg works in scenes of joy and tranquility that also highlight Agutter’s budding sexuality, a powerful undercurrent in this fascinating Australian drama.

House of Sand (2006): Lovely Áurea (Fernanda Torres) moves with tyrannical husband Vasco, a would-be farmer, and mother Dona Maria (Fernanda Montenegro) to a rundown cabin in the desolate Maranhão desert of northern Brazil. When Vasco dies unexpectedly, Áurea struggles to make a home for her aging mother and newborn in this barren, forbidding new environment. A beautifully photographed, moving saga of three generations of women, Andrucha Waddington’s “Sand” begins in 1910 and fast-forwards to 1919, 1942 and finally the Space Age, tracking Áurea’s trials with her impetuous daughter Maria (Camilla Facundes), who longs for a life beyond the dunes. Over the decades, Áurea’s experience will be shaped by death, tragedy, war and romance with an astronomer, Luiz (Enrique Diaz), who seems to hold the promise of escape. Early on, she also receives help from Massu (Seu Jorge), one of the wary ex-slaves living nearby.

Flawlessly acted, “Sand” is an ode to women’s otherworldly strength. Plus, this film truly is a family affair, Montenegro and Torres are real-life mother and daughter, and respectively, mother-in-law and wife of the director.