Some movies deserve to be revisited from time to time. Out of Africa is one of them. The 1985 movie, based on the 1937 autobiography by Karen Blixen, stars Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. It won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. John Barry won an Oscar for the musical score, and David Watkin won an Oscar for cinematography.
My sister and I were talking about a Facebook Post I’d shared with her about the movie one day over lunch with my daughter-in-law, Nicole. She’d never seen it, so when we got back to the Airbnb, we watched it. Of course, my son remembered it as that four-hour movie about Africa. But she liked it, and I enjoyed watching it again for the first time in a long time.
It takes place before and during WWI. On the way to Nairobi, British East Africa, to marry Baron Bror Blixen, Karen meets big game-hunter Denys Finch Hatton. She manages their coffee, while Bror lives a life of leisure, going on safaris and pursuing other women. Eventually, they separate. Karen and Denys fall in love, and he stays with her when he’s not traveling. They share a love for Africa and its people. She wants to make their relationship official, but he prefers his independence. He assures her he wants only her, but marriage doesn’t matter to him. She only wants to belong to someone. This eventually drives them apart.
When a fire destroys the coffee plantation along with the factory, Karen is forced to return home. Shortly before she leaves, Denys comes to her and admits that his feelings for her have changed. He asks to join her on her journey back after a flight to Tsavo. Sadly, his plane crashes, and he is killed.
She buries him on a hill on the plantation, a place where lions often visit, and leaves, never returning to Africa.
It was visually stunning, and the music was poignant and moving. I loved Meryl Streep’s character as well. She was a brave and compassionate woman who truly cared for the Kikuyu people living and working on her plantation. I could not help but admire her for her self-reliance at a time and place when women weren’t encouraged to be independent.
And of course, there was Robert Redford. It’s funny. He was a good actor, but he wasn’t one of my favorites until he got older. The characters he played always seemed to have something profound to say, and when he said it, you believed him. If you haven’t seen it, or haven’t seen it in a while, watch it again. You’ll be glad you did.
Susan A. Royal 