Movie Stats:
Released 1985 (USA)
American, in English (small amounts of Swahili, both
translated and not)
Director – Sydney Pollack
Stars – Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Klaus Maria Brandauer
Plot Summary:
After marrying Swedish baron Bror Blixen (Brandauer) for
convenience, Danish woman Karen (Streep) and her new husband settle in Kenya,
where they start a coffee plantation while Karen slowly falls in love with an
American, Denys (Redford). Set during the early 20th century &
based on a true story.
Warnings:
Very brief female nudity (breasts) – blink and you’ll miss
it; violence toward animals.
Bad Stuff:
It’s too long (2 hours, 40 minutes). I started getting bored
around hour two. I swear, it’s like the Academy thinks that only ridiculously
long movies are good, but all of my favorites have been amongst the shorter
ones.
It annoyed me that Denys was always conveniently there
whenever Karen needed him. About to get eaten by a lady lion? Fortunately,
Denys will appear out of nowhere to save you. Lost in the desert? Good thing
Denys just happens by to give you a compass. It increased my awareness that I
was watching a movie, which made it more difficult to get lost in it.
I guess that, in the 80s, they were pretty fond of movies
about life in general, movies where nothing terribly exciting happens. For me,
it’s growing a little old. I’m sort of looking forward to the explosions that I
know will occur in my next movie.
Good Stuff:
The cinematography is gorgeous.
It’s nice to not only see a strong female character, but to
actually have her as the lead. That has been very rare.
Once again, we have a movie where characters behave like
adults in difficult situations. I really liked that.
The Verdict:
It’s okay. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be,
but I wouldn’t put it on my favorites list either. It wasn’t as boring as some
of the other winners. I think the beautiful scenery, and the fact that the
story had exotic elements because of its setting, offset some of the tedium.
However, I won’t be recommending it to anyone, unless they tell me that they
just love movies about Africa.
I give the movie 3.25 stars.
2 comments:
I tried to read this book as a teenager, as it was on some list of "books you should have read." I didn't finish it. And I haven't seen the movie.
Interesting observation about "life in general" movies and the 80s.
I say don't bother. Doesn't pass the Bechdel test. There are better movies with strong female characters. I believe Meryl Streep may even be in some of them. :)
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