In Desert and Wilderness is a 2001 Polish film directed by Gavin Hood. Adapted from the 1911 novel In Desert and Wilderness by Henryk Sienkiewicz, it tells the story of two kids, Staś Tarkowski and Nel Rawlison, kidnapped by the rebels during Mahdi's rebellion in Sudan.

Soyer is a young boy who despises consumption, conformity and everything related to mass culture. Some people think he's crazy, some think he's an idiot, and some think he's... a savior. After his mother is hospitalized, all responsibility for Soyer falls on his beautiful sister Gretel. One day the siblings go on a trip to the mountains. They are accompanied by Gretel's husband - an ambitious bank employee named Janek. Soyer tries to infect the travel companions with his world view. He intends to do it even against their will. All tricks are allowed. An innocent ride turns into an exciting expedition that will change all its participants irrevocably.