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sofm 's review for:
Out of Africa
by Isak Dinesen
At first I was looking forward to reading this because I usually enjoy memoirs a lot. My enthusiasm was quickly snuffed out when I dived into a long, descriptive 400 pages of what sometimes felt like a whole lot of nothing. I very much enjoyed the parts where she describes her dealings and relationships with the native african people who surrounded her and worked for her coffee farm. I really liked the safari bits, and the fact that she only mentions having a husband once, because the story she wanted to tell simply wasn’t about him. But about her and her experience in Africa. I got through the book but it took me forever to give the two and a half hour movie a chance.
The film won 7 Oscars, including Best Picture so it had to be good, right?
They weren’t kidding when they said that this movie was LOOSELY based on the book. Which makes it quite hard to understand how it also snatched Best Adapted Screenplay.
With nowhere to go but up, I found myself enjoying the film way more than the book.
Africa is gorgeous! And the safari scenes where all there. Meryl Streep was amazing as always, and the Kikuyu do become family, just as depicted in the book. The catch is that they made it into a love story!! And since they strayed so much from what I had read, I had no idea where the story was going or where it would end up. So I was surprised (but not really) when they did sorta take her friend crashing his airplane in the book into a SHOCKER of a finale where her lover is the one who crashes and dies. Also, she got syphilis at some point?! Why?!
Overall I did like their relationship or moreso, his view of what love should be.
Love is not about possession.
Love is about freedom.
It’s not about getting married to be able to to call someone your own.
It’s about letting a person be free and have them choose to come back to you every single time, not cause they have to or because it’s what’s expected. And at the end of the day that should speak louder than anything.
So, I’m gonna have to go with the movie for this one. And that’s a plot twist on itself.
The film won 7 Oscars, including Best Picture so it had to be good, right?
They weren’t kidding when they said that this movie was LOOSELY based on the book. Which makes it quite hard to understand how it also snatched Best Adapted Screenplay.
With nowhere to go but up, I found myself enjoying the film way more than the book.
Africa is gorgeous! And the safari scenes where all there. Meryl Streep was amazing as always, and the Kikuyu do become family, just as depicted in the book. The catch is that they made it into a love story!! And since they strayed so much from what I had read, I had no idea where the story was going or where it would end up. So I was surprised (but not really) when they did sorta take her friend crashing his airplane in the book into a SHOCKER of a finale where her lover is the one who crashes and dies. Also, she got syphilis at some point?! Why?!
Overall I did like their relationship or moreso, his view of what love should be.
Love is not about possession.
Love is about freedom.
It’s not about getting married to be able to to call someone your own.
It’s about letting a person be free and have them choose to come back to you every single time, not cause they have to or because it’s what’s expected. And at the end of the day that should speak louder than anything.
So, I’m gonna have to go with the movie for this one. And that’s a plot twist on itself.