This film is based on the life of Karen Blixen (played here by Meryl Street), a Danish woman who, in the early 20th century, entered into a marriage of convenience and moved to Africa to run a coffee plantation with her husband (Klaus Maria Brandauer). When he abandons her, she starts a romance with free-spirited game hunter Denys Finch-Hatton (Robert Redford).
I first saw this film at the cinema when I was a young teenager, and to be honest, I found it boring; most of the story lines went over my head. Watching it again now as an adult however, I thought this film was rather beautiful, and very rewarding. It is so much more than just a romance, although the romantic aspect is beautifully played out. Without the help of her husband, Karen has to learn to survive on her own wits and intelligence, in a time when it was not easy to be a single woman. She becomes independent and stronger than she probably ever could have imagined possible. Redford – who looks as beautiful as ever! – is wonderful as Finch-Hatton (although his character was likely somewhat sanitised for cinema audiences), and the relationship between these two headstrong characters was very believable.
It is a long film – the best part of three hours, and in some parts very slow moving. It is very much a character driven story, rather than a plot driven story, but it is well worth the investment. Shot partly on location in Kenya, the scenery is simply stunning, and made me want to visit the area.
When you have actors like Streep and Redford on board, you know that you are going to get good performances, and they don’t disappoint. However, I did find Streep’s Danish accent somewhat irritating at first, but got used to it.
It took me a long time to come back to this film, but I am very glad that I did so, and would certainly recommend it to anyone who likes a moving, thought-provoking film.
Year of release: 1985
Director: Sydney Pollack
Producers: Kim Jorgensen, Sydney Pollack, Anna Cataldi, Judith Thurman, Terence Clegg
Writers: Karen Blixen (book ‘Out of Africa’ and other writings), Judith Thurman (book ‘Isak Dinesen: The Life of a Story Teller’), Errol Trzebinski (book ‘Silence Will Speak’), Kurt Luedtke
Main cast: Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Michael Kitchen, Malick Bowens, Mike Bugara
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