Review of Out of Africa (1985) by Luke G — 15 Sep 2012

Like other cinematic epics of its kind, OUT OF AFRICA holds nothing back in its exploration of a women surviving admits the danger and majesty of a place far from home. The film presents soaring cinematography transforming Africa into a candy store for the eyes, great performances spear headed by the great Meryl Streep and the great Robert Redford, and a beautiful score by John Barry that is as large and enchanting as Africa itself.

At the stories center, a danish women named Karen Bixen (Streep) marries out of opportunity instead of love leading her to be the barreness of a coffee farm in the African countryside. Her huband, playey by Klaus Brandauer with subtle villany, goes off on long meandering and expensive trips, leaving Karen in charge of running a farm that was his idea, but bought with her money.

During this time away from her husband, she meets and falls into a deep love affair with a rouge hunter played with sensible charm by Robert Redford. Though their motives for the affair can somewhat be justified on the fact that Karen's marriage was never about love, but money and the success of their business, it still begs the question why she kept the marriage going for so long, even after learning of her husbands infidelity, and the justification of something so inherantly false.

Though the films sense of love and marriage is tainted, it's nice to see that the filmakers do not hold a specific reverance to it, giving us plenty of chances to see Karen's life working alongside the natives.

We see her healing their wounds, teaching them to read and write, and helping them find a common ground between their two very distinctive cultures. While in Africa, Karen discovers a place and people she has never seen or witnessed before, and that is where the heart OUT OF AFRICA truly shines the greatest.