Out of Africa

Fifty years ago I was living in the Kenya highlands, only a few miles from the old Blixen farm. Not a great deal had changed since the 1920s, the period of the movie, which manages a reasonable re-creation. However, the background is unlikely to mean much to Americans, only confirming unreal stereotypes of the colonial British. Meryl Steep, as we have come to expect, is superb in the part; and in 2003 she co-narrated a wonderful documentary on the remarkable Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen), to whom in fact she bears some physical resemblance. Robert Redford is badly miscast, and why the producers didn't get one of many superb English actors for the part I can't imagine. As a love story well told in what to most people will be an exotic setting, beautifully photographed, it should be highly rated, justifying its many awards.

a film with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford could not be more than a good one. the African landscapes, the music, the cast are virtues in same measure. but the real surprise is the wise balance between emotions, love story, decisions of the lead characters. the science to use a book for explore the nuances of a form of survive far to well- known places. the precise - delicate portrait of relationship and about the status/roots in a different society. and, sure, the high poetry of images - parts of inspired music. a film for remind and discover. small, seductive, bitter details. and for understand a part from a non ordinary biography. more than a good film, a surprising one. for a kind of magic who rebuild a lost form of romanticism and adventure.

What makes a good film? It's funny I lent my DVD of this to a mate recently and although she didn't hate it she didn't get it either. Which surprised me because, to me, there has never been any doubt in my mind about the beauty and quality of this film. Anyway I was surfing IMDb and decided to look at this page. There is (or was) a thread on the discussion board about whether this was a good or bad film, I clicked on it. I have never (in my modest surfing of this site) seen such a big thread. Surely a film that evokes that much passion (the majority of which was positive and defencive) has achieved something.

I'm not saying that Out of Africa is the best film I've ever seen (I've yet to see that one!) but I think I can safely say that it has secured a place for itself both in cinematic history and the future of entertainment. You see at it heart it is a well made, timeless epic.

Yes there will always be the people who take exception to the accents, dislike the ending or believes it drags on for too long, but that's their lost, I can't help thinking they haven't been patient enough (and this annoys me).

You see the thing is in many ways the endless beauty of this film lies in its subtleties. Yes you have Meryl Streep and Redford flanked by the scenery and music, but for me it's the things like Pollock's direction, Michael Kitchen's performance and Karen's interaction with member's of the tribe that make the film.

Part of me wants to tie my mate to a chair and make her sit and watch this until she gets it. The other half is slightly relieved, because I feel that with her rejection this film is ever so slightly more exclusively mine, and I know that although I'm still only young I will always have time a space for it!

Wonderful film. Great in every detail. Director Sydney Pollack captures every nuance of time and place, and the cast is perfection. Meryl Streep is a total wonder as the Danish woman who goes to Africa to find a life but learns about love instead. Robert Redford was much maligned when this film was released in 1985 but now seems quite fine. Michael Kitchen, Rachel Kempson, Suzanna Hamilton, and Michael Gough are all good. John Barry's beautiful score is among the best in film history: a perfect melding of times past and wistfulness and love. Gorgeous African vistas serve as a backdrop for the love story between Streep and Redford, playing real-life characters Isaak Dineson and Dennis Finch-Hatton. But this is not just a movie romance. It's a story about loss: the loss of love, the loss on innocence, the loss beauty. And it's all symbolized by the loss of Africa. War, mechanization, imperialism, westernization, progress are the evils of the early 19th century just as they are today. But the heart of this film is Meryl Streep's flawless performance. She is a wonder.

It's hard to describe this film. On one hand, it's long and slow; on the other, it's an absorbing story with fantastic acting and breathtaking scenery.

Meryl Streep stars as Karen Blixen, a Danish woman, who marries Bror Blixen and becomes a Baroness. The couple move to Africa in 1913 and start a coffee plantation.

Blixen cheats on her and is away often for business, while she stays at home working the plantation. Ultimately he gives her VD.

She falls in love with Denys Finch-Hatton (Robert Redford). The relationship is frustrating for her -- Denys does not want a commitment, he wanted freedom. When she returns to her native country, she writes about her experience as Isak Dinesen.

The film shows a lot of interesting history: the class consciousness, for one, as Karen was looked down on because of her humble beginnings. Also, it shows Europeans trying to impose their culture on a foreign people.

It definitely portrays how the different tribes saw the Europeans, basically as people who did not belong there.

It also shows the simplicity of the natives, and how their knowledge of their own country was superior. All of this is before World War II and very interesting.

Interestingly, Sikh Indians are brought to the English Gentlemen's club to act as servants and when Karen dares to enter the men's only den, it's the Sikh who is responsible for escorting her out; none of the English "gentlemen" have the balls or nerve to do it. An interesting observation on the English White man's view of the world before World War I.

Many of the lesser characters were real people. Kumante was apparently consulted by the filmmakers. Felicity is based on aviatrix Beryl Markham.

The cast includes Klaus Maria Brandauer, Michael Kitchen, Michael Gough, and Rachel Kempson, all wonderful actors.

Meryl Streep does a beautiful job as Karen/Isak. Robert Redford is miscast as Denys, who is supposed to be a British aristocrat. If he speaks with an American accent, he can't be a British aristocrat. Apparently Redford used an accent but Sydney Pollack made him overdub his lines; he thought they would distract the audience.

I think he should have been encouraged to work on and use the accent so his portrayal could have closer to the real man. As it is, he comes off as miscast -- and American. He also doesn't register as well as he could, given his looks and charm.

The scenery in this film is the true star. So many of us don't have a strong picture of Africa; this film displays its great beauty.

Interestingly, the story of Isak Dinesen was considered for Greta Garbo, and Audrey Hepburn was offered the role before Streep.