True Stories 10: 80s—Out of Africa

After a few weeks of criminals—In Cold Blood, Bonnie and Clyde, All the President’s Men, and Escape from Alcatraz—not forgetting the violent, if not totally criminal, Raging Bull, let’s take a nice little trip to Africa.

I’ve never been to Africa [well, Egypt… but somehow that seems a bit separate from the Africa of animals and hunters and English plantations of yore] but watching this film makes you feel like you’re there.

Out of Africa [1985] by Kurt Luedtke tells the story of Karen Blixen. So it’s a definite biopic. But it’s one that has a softer character at its center.

Take a look at an extended clip of the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of3lXUqP0VM

As you can see, when Karen Blixen arrives in Kenya to marry her Baron, she’s pretty much clueless. From being met at the train station to riding on a carriage through the town, everything is new to her and very different from what she’s used to. We do see, at another point in the film, her life in Denmark, so we know how very different Kenya is to her.

We also discover that this marriage isn’t much of a marriage—and that her husband, who’d agreed they’d use her money to start a dairy farm, has instead decided to start a coffee plantation. And it’s clear they’re not really in love. For Karen’s part, she seemed to just want to get away from her rather ordinary life in Denmark, so marrying this Baron would take her to an exotic land and give her the title of Baroness.

But the trade off? She wouldn’t have love. She’d get a philandering husband who spends her money and leaves her to manage the troubling plantation while he’s off doing whatever and, on one of his rare moments at home, manages to give her the clap—which takes her back to Denmark for treatment.

So this woman has a lot to deal with—and then she meets the man with whom she will have a passionate affair. But he doesn’t want to be tied down…

And all of this is played out against the magnificent backdrop of Kenya.

It’s interesting to look at this film from the perspective of its location. Because when people talk about this film they talk about the beauty of the landscape, the serenity, the feel of the countryside. It reminds you, as a writer, how important your setting can be. And it behooves you to write the kind of descriptions of that landscape that will evoke the real thing in the mind of the person reading your work—which can be tough to do.

The majesty of a film can very much come from its setting, but it’s the interaction between the characters—in this case, Karen’s learning what love can be, that really make a film.

Next week let’s continue our journey into the 90s where we meet a very interesting husband in Reversal of Fortune.

Copyright © Diane Lake

14Aug22

Email Diane a question to Diane@DianeLake.com