|
Out of AfricaRating:
Release Date: 04 March, 2003 Retail Price: $14.98 OUR Price: $9.99 You SAVE: $4.99! Cast: Complete Cast (7 total) |
Out of Africa Reviews
Meryl stole my heart, and she's had it ever since...
I'm new to the Meryl Streep fan club. Until recently I've just tolerated her presence in a film, but after being forced to watch some of her best material I've become to understand the appeal. `Out of Africa' was forced on me by my wife about three weeks ago because she swore I would love it, and I'm surprised to say that I did. Meryl does a beautiful job capturing the heart of this woman, the soul in her that, while was once dying away was able to be restored through the realizations of a love she had never felt before.
That woman is acclaimed author Karen Blixen who moved to Africa with her then husband Baron Bror Blixen (Klaus Maria Brandauer) in order to start a cow farm only to find that her husband decided to use her mother's money to start a coffee plantation instead. Throughout the course of her rocky marriage she suffers from loneliness and despair knowing that her husband, who is always gone on hunting trips with his friends, is have affair after affair, and even though their marriage was more of an agreement (as in she wanted a title and he wanted her money) the feeling of being used starts to take a toll on out heroine. She soon meets and falls in love with a mysterious hunter Denys (Robert Redford) who may or may not be the man of her dreams.
Karen soon realizes that the lack of love she has for herself and her life course is what is making it difficult for her to really love Denys. I had a conversation prior to watching this film with a friend who swore she hated `Titanic' because the love affair between Jack and Rose was unbelievable. In the same breath she told me how I needed to watch `Out of Africa' for it was one of the greatest movies ever made. I'm sorry to disappoint, but I felt that the love affair between Karen and Denys was stale and cold. I was never really convinced they truly loved one another. To me though, that doesn't really take away from the point of this film which was about empowerment and realizing your dreams and potential. Plus, Meryl was so spot on here it brought the film to entirely different level (I'm serious, I am a die hard Streep fan now!).
To me this is a different kind of love story, not between man and woman but between a woman and herself, learning to love her lot in life and make it the best she can despite what anything or anyone throws at her. Karen was a strong willed and passionate woman who was guarded and help captive by the men in her life who all but tied her down, and as she grew she realized she could easily break away and be the woman she always knew she should be. I felt it a wonderful film, one to be enjoyed again and again.
Sumptuous Feast
I heard of this movie when I was a toddler. My only recollection of it was that it won a lot of Oscars. If I watched this movie then, I wouldn't have appreciated it. With advent of technology, we are able to watch this movie as how it intended to be watched. The scenery of Africa was outstanding, the cast was simply magnificent, the soundtrack provided by Barry was memorable, and the complicated love story between Karen Blixen (Meryl Streep) and her philandering husband and the mysterious English hunter (Robert Redford) were never contrived and very real. The story was beautifully woven to the point of Tsavo when the incident motivated Karen to move out of Africa permanently. Still, the love and passion that she wrote about her man and the land was faithfully restored in this beautifully made movie. Movie such as this nature is found wanting in these modern days, which seemed to be preceded by special effects. The new documentary of 70 minutes enabled us to have an insight into some memorable scenes in the movie. A must-have and a movie to be shared between the loved ones. Highly recommended.
More Customer Reviews (49 total)
You like Out of Africa?
|
© 2004, 2005, 2006 DVD Booty | Don't Plunder Our Cache of Booty, Matey!
Hosting made possible by donations from Debt Relief Belief, Debt Relief, and Florida Home Mortgage Rates
