Out of Africa

Isak Dinesen (the pseudonym for Danish author Karen Blixen) published her autobiographical book Out of Africa in 1937. That book, along with her later book Shadows on the Grass and other sources served for the basis of the 1985 American epic romantic drama Out of Africa. “Natives dislike speed, as we dislike noise…” she wrote and her prose reflects that, as does this film which Producer/Director Sydney Pollack has replicated faithfully. This isn’t so much a single story as it is a cohesive narrative made up of about six different chapters strung together. As a young man I found it insufferably too long but revisiting it now my feelings have changed a little. It’s still too long but there is much to enjoy in it.

We are introduced to Karen (Meryl Streep), a Danish aristocrat, in 1913 as she has been rejected by a Swedish nobleman. She proposes a marriage of convienence to the nobleman’s brother, Baron Bror Blixen (Klaus Maria Brandauer) with a plan to move to Nairobi, British East Africa, where Bror will invest her money in a dairy farm. She will join him a few months later where they will be wed. Upon arrival, she discovers that instead of using her money to buy cattle, he had purchased land to grow coffee instead, despite knowing that it is difficult to grow coffee at the altitudes the land is at. 

Along the way she meets big-game hunter Denys Finch Hatton (Robert Redford), who knows Bror. She also meets Farah (Malick Bowens), a Somali headman Bror has hired. Soon afterwards, she and Bror are married and she becomes Baroness Blixen. With the higher elevation making growing the coffee difficult, she needs Bror’s help but he is more interested in guiding big-game hunting safaris. 

Despite the difficulties, Karen comes to love Africa and the people, caring for those natives who live on her land. She even establishes a school for the Kikuyu people and helps with their medical needs. Meanwhile, she tries to build up her own home-life in an attempt to rival the other nearby upper-class colonists. Despite being a marriage of convenience, she eventually warms up to Bror and they consummate their relationship. Not long after, though, she discovers that he has no interest in monogamy and has been seeing other women when he is away. As World War I reaches East Africa, he leaves with a newly formed militia group.

Eventually their relationship sours and they get separated. This leads her back to Denys, who is falling in love with her. But, while he is committed to her, he does not wish to marry, finding the formality of marriage unnecessary. More setbacks with the coffee crop lead Karen to take out a loan against the land, a loan that if she cannot pay will cause her to lose the land to the banks and force the natives to move. 

Colonization is one of the things explored in this film. Rich upper-class people move in on an established culture and force the rightful people off their land. The Europeans did this a lot throughout their history, including when they came to the Americas. Their exploits in Africa were just as detrimental to the native populations. Very few people had altruistic intentions towards the natives. Africa was seen as another frontier to establish colonies and a place for rich adventurers to hunt down big game for sport. We see that in both Bror and Denys. Our introduction to Denys is him approaching the train Karen is arriving on. With him is a native companion and several large tusks of ivory from one of his own hunts. Bror earns money from his own hunting expeditions. This is considered a mans environment, complete with bars that do not allow access to the fairer sex.

Karen grows in the esteem of the locals because she is genuine and really cares for the people. It helps her establish a dialogue and friendship with the locals, many of whom have never really seen kindness from the white people. Later, when she is reduced to pleading with the incoming governor to provide land for her displaced Kikuyu workers. While she cannot get a promise from him, his wife has compassion and gives her own word that they will be taken care of. 

Denys and Karen spend the better part of the second half in their own relationship. So much of this film depends on our rooting for this relationship to flourish and to a degree it does. But that is primarily because of the easy charm both actors have with each other. We can call it chemistry, whatever that really means, but what it boils down to is that we believe in that relationship. That makes it all the more frustrating when that relationship comes to an impasse. Denys wants his freedom, even saying he is leaving on safaris when he just means getting away from her for a little while. He loves her, but he loves his freedom even more.

This film is flat-out too long. There is a lot of good stuff here but it doesn’t need to be nearly three hours in length. We spend far too long on scenes that establish settings and tones than is absolutely necessary and the pacing makes those moments feel all the more lengthy. While never quite boring, it does overstay its welcome. Some judicial trimming would have made this film flow better. 

Out of Africa took home the Best Picture Oscar for 1985. Meryl and Klaus were also nominated for their acting, though neither won. The scale of the production, the lavish filmmaking, and the sheer magnitude of the whole affair carried the day against a somewhat tepid list of other nominees. The biggest competition looked to be Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple which ultimately sputtered at the awards ceremony, receiving 11 nominations, winning nothing. 

Out of Africa is epic in scale and has quite a bit to say about colonialism and women’s position in society at the time. It wears its message firmly attached to the sleeve but it takes so long to reach its conclusion that it strains the patience at times. On top of that, while the final moments are emotional, they are also dour. It’s a true story so it cannot stray too far from the real events but as a film it just feels like one bad turn too many. It ends with the statement that Karen never returned to Africa which is perhaps the most depressing thing this film could have ended on. 

Academy Award Nominations:

Best Picture: Sydney Pollack (won)

Best Director: Sydney Pollock (won)

Best Actress: Meryl Streep

Best Supporting Actor: Klaus Maria Brandauer

Best Adapted Screenplay: Kurt Luedtke (won)

Best Art Direction: Stephen B. Grimes and Josie MacAvin (won)

Best Cinematography: David Watkin (won) 

Best Costume Design: Milena Canonero

Best Film Editing: Fredric Steinkamp, William Steinkamp, Pembroke J. Herring, and Sheldon Kahn

Best Original Score: John Barry (won)

Best Sound: Chris Jenkins, Gary Alexander, Larry Stensvold, and Peter Handford (won)

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Release Date: December 18, 1985

Running Time: 161 Minutes

Rated PG

Starring: Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, and Klaus Maria Brandauer

Directed by: Sydney Pollack