Review of Out of Africa (1985) by Mikael A — 06 Mar 2012

Out of Africa is a very beautiful film, filled with stunning cinematography and great music, but it is extremely flawed. Although Sydney Pollack isn't a bad director, here he fails to convey any sense of pacing and the film drags and drags and drags, without a strong enough script to support its length.

Some of the characters are very complex, and the actors who portray them, Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, pull it off perfectly, with the supporting actors also doing a good job. Based on a true story, it tells of Karen Blixen, a Danish baroness who through a loveless marriage comes to own a coffee plantation in colonial Kenya. Near the times of World War I, she meets Denis, a big-game hunter, and they slowly begin a doomed love affair. This film deserves credit for how it shows relationships, and life, in a realistic and touching way, but unfortunately none of it manages to be very interesting...

I usually love long films that take the time to develop its characters and their surroundings, yet I have to say this one made me uncomfortable and bored me, as I couldn't keep up with its slow pace and its poor story. Even awe-inspiring shots of african landscapes don't quite make up for what the film couldn't achieve.

Out of Africa is passable in my opinion, and is still worth it for those who enjoy complicated romances, at least without expecting something too exciting or out of the ordinary.