Far from Africa movie review

: Film Review - Out of Africa

Among the films from various countries involving the magical land of Africa, "Out of Africa" ??filmed by American director Sidney Pollack in 1985 (OUT OF AFRICA, or translated as "Away from Africa") is undoubtedly the most artistic and connotative one. It won 7 Oscars that year including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Music. The film's soundtrack was composed by British composer John Barry.

The whole film begins with the memories of female writer Karin Blixen. In 1914, Karin and Swedish Baron Broll Blixen left their hometown of Denmark and came to Kenya, a former British colony in eastern Africa. After getting married, they ran a large coffee plantation together. Karin, who had just arrived in Africa, once encountered a lion without carrying a gun. Thanks to Denis, an Englishman from an aristocratic background, she was saved. Karin fell deeply in love with Dennis. Due to Dennis's unruly and unrestrained personality, although the two had a close affinity, their relationship was on and off. In 1930, a fire destroyed Karin's coffee plantation. Soon Dennis also died in a plane crash. Dennis once gave her two gifts: a pen and a flight. It was he who took her to the sky in a plane. Soaring in the blue sky, she felt that she was overlooking the beautiful and rich African land "through God's eyes". With Dennis's death, everything passed away, and with the two most cherished gifts in her heart, Karin left the continent she loved full of loss and melancholy. She will never forget that Dennis carried a gramophone when he hunted. He carried "three rifles, a month's worth of dry food, and Mozart...".

The soundtrack theme that appears at the beginning of the film was created by the composer based on the theme of the second movement of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, a classical piece of music that we heard at the beginning of the film and appeared again and again later. This is the favorite piece of music by the hero Dennis. The melody we hear therefore has an elegant and noble quality, and at the same time bears the most distinctive and charming creative characteristics of composer John Barry. It has a steady rhythm, broad harmonies, beautiful melody, and smooth flow. It is one of John Barry's most beloved screen melodies. In the vast and magnificent wilderness that the camera reproduces excellently and faithfully, through music we seem to be able to feel the rhythm of the earth, the breath of all things and the fragrance of the earth.

Mozart’s works appear in the film "Out of Africa" ??in the form of "picture active sound". From the moment Denis gives Karin a gramophone, we continue to hear fragments of several instrumental works by Mozart. Among them, the one that is used most often and actively participates in the narrative of the story is Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A major. Mozart composed this work approximately in the last years of his life - 1791, and the second movement is obviously chamber music in nature. It is worth mentioning that this movement has been used many times in world movies. The theme of the clarinet solo is simple, peaceful and meaningful. In the second half of the film, it often appears in the camera with the male protagonist Dennis. Dennis has always been unwilling to be fettered by emotions and family, and rejected Karin's desire to live together. He is used to being alone and is destined to wander for the rest of his life. In the scene where Karin listens to the music playing on the gramophone and waits for her beloved to come again, the quiet melody of the solo clarinet seems to deepen the loneliness and disappointment in her heart.

The heroine Karin in "Out of Africa" ??is played by Meryl Streep, recognized as America's leading professional actress. Her husband Brohl is played by the famous Austrian actor Klaus Maria Brandauer. This Austrian actor should be familiar to Chinese audiences. In the TV series "John Christophe" produced by the French EMI production company and broadcast on Beijing TV about ten years ago, Brandauer played the role of Christophe.

The actor Dennis in "Out of Africa" ??is played by one of the most charismatic screen icons - Robert Redford. The blond Dennis he plays has an aristocratic air. He is bold and uninhibited, travels all over the world, is self-respecting, and is suave. It was he who flew down from the sky in a yellow plane and took his girlfriend into the blue sky, giving her the opportunity to overlook the magical and fertile continent they loved through God's eyes.

On the screen, as the plane climbs and the scenery changes, the texture of the music is constantly enriching and the timbre is constantly changing. When the emotions in the music have accumulated to saturation, as the camera switches to a close-up shot of an airplane flying over a large flock of white birds, the opening music theme plummets, vividly expressing the surging passion in Karin's heart. This is one of the most memorable scenes in the film. In the air, Karin was deeply moved and reached out her hand to the back of the cockpit...

"Out of Africa" ??is a high-quality, veritable blockbuster with almost no commercial traces. With an implicit nostalgic sentiment, it expresses people's reflection and introspection at the beginning of this century in the face of the abnormal development of modern civilization and its invasion of other national cultures in the world. Through the storyline, a large number of poetic images and the protagonist's confession, the film reflects the yearning of the European immigrants living in the colonies, represented by Karin, to return to nature, and their love for the ancient customs of the indigenous peoples. In terms of material selection, the film's music also shows respect for African folk music and a comprehensive and rich overall creative concept.