Genres

Visitors Review

Parmdeep Jagdev 2013-05-09 13:45:31

Dull film that lacks epic passion

Sadly, such a beautiful title demanded a good film but alas. we didn'tdream of Africa.... Kuki's story is meant to move you... fill you witha deep understanding for her Passion for Africa.... As someone who wasborn and brought up in Kenya, I can understand anyone's passion for Thebreathtaking beauty of the African landscape.. the films flaws lie inits editing. there is a lot of chopping and changing. We don't get tosense her reason for loving land that is Africa to death even though ittakes her husband and her son away from her. What we get is and imageof a sad bitter and twisted colonial woman. The cinematography is belowaverage and important scenes such as Paulo's funeral don't have theimpact that they should have. Though enjoyable not the best and sadlywon't be remembered as a great movie but a disaster that just fadedaway.....

clovis-5 2013-05-09 05:46:06

The protagonist can't relax, nor could this viewer

Any film shot in Africa can be beautiful based on the settings alone. Butthis film, which begins on a confusing note (who are these people, whathappens to the other passengers on that fateful drive?), makes itdifficultto appreciate the lovely setting. This is largely due to the petulance ofthe protagonist (played by Kim Basinger) who just never seems to relax.This may seem like a trivial point, but I found that her attitude ofcontinual reproach hindered my enjoyment of the film. Whether this can beattributed to the character as originally conceived by the author,direction, or just Basinger's acting style is an open question.

Skinnys Girl 2013-04-29 07:55:53

I wanted to live there with them!

I absolutely LOVED this movie, I bought it and watched it again and again and again. The story intrigued me, the location was awesome, especially the house. I want a house like that!Most of all, I just LOVE Kim Basinger. I wish I looked like her bcz she is beeeautiful and so naturally too!! She's a great actress. Totally Awesome!

2013-04-28 19:00:33

Fantastic

A fantastic movie about love and Africa.Must see

perrygreer 2013-04-21 03:46:24

Although beautifully filmed, story was disconnected.

Saw this film last night at a sneak preview and thought it was very wellfilmed but the story lacked connection. All the way through the movie Ithought that if someone read the book they might enjoy it more. Sceneswould show something then it's as if they skip ahead a few pages orchaptersfor the next scene with no connection. Kim Bassinger carried the pictureotherwise!

2013-04-20 16:10:04

Why all the negative comments?

What's up with all these negative comments? Out of all the comments I readon this site, less than one fifth of them are positive. I may not be oldenough to have seen a huge amount of movies, but I must say that as a 16year old, I truly enjoyed this movie. Of course, certain moments weremeaningless, some parts were a tiny weeny bit confusing, but you caught upwith the story within the next two seconds. The acting by the whole castwasamazing, the scenery was gorgeous, hehe and so was Vincent Perez! Themusicwas...um...well displaced at certain times, but overall the movie made mecry twice ( well many things make me cry so you might not want to takethatinto consideration ) the story was quite well constructed, the actors didagreat job. (I have an enormous amount of respect for actors as I want tobeone someday, so I do not believe that any performance can be bad, some canbe improved in certain ways, but nothing is ever awful and onlyconstructivecriticism should be given to actors. As I've always been told: If youcan'tsay anything nice, don't say anything at all. A few of the people whocommented on the performances should have been taught that.) I have giventhis movie a 9 out of 10. It may not be one of the best movies ever made,but not one movie has ever been absolutely perfect, and I truly think thisone deserves much better reviews that it has gotten, although that is JMHOand everyone has their own, so I'm not dissing anyone's POV. Well that'sallof my rambling for today ;)

2013-04-13 12:35:04

Inspiring Film

This film is a must see. "I Dreamed of Africa" is based on a true story about Kuki Gallman, her new husband Poalo, and her son. The family makes the bold decision to pick up and move to a run down ranch in beautiful Africa in order to change thier lives for the better. Together as a family they fix up the house and live thier lives in Africa. The story mainly centers around Kuki's view of thier time spent in Africa, therefore you see her pain and her perspective of everything she went through to get there and when they get there. The film has a beautiful setting with a breathtaking soundtrack.This film captures the pain and love that Kuki feels over a series of years. The transitions from year to year are very smooth and the lives of the family are easy to follow. As one watches the family go through the beauties of Africa as well as the dangers of Africa one truley begins to understand the importance of their own life . This film made me want to pick up and move to Africa as well. It is truley inspiring as you see how strong Kuki Gallman was and is and how far she will go to help her family as well as people. I highly reccomend this film.

2013-04-13 05:59:30

I Dreamed of Africa

This review is from: I Dreamed of Africa (DVD) This movie was most interesting to me for the country and landscape. It is a beautiful place. The story was somewhat shallow.

2013-04-03 21:28:48

Beautiful sites of Africa

This review is from: I Dreamed of Africa (DVD) Great movie about dreaming and living out something that is unknown exciting and scary. These things come with a high cost sometimes but the adventure and opportunity make your life rich and fulfilling.

2013-04-03 05:20:29

DVD I dreamed of Africa

This review is from: I Dreamed of Africa (DVD) This is a beautiful film. I wish I knew which parts were filmed in Kenya and which in South Africa. I intend to visit the place in SA , so I was really looking forward to watch it. The story is OK but the scenery is most worth watching!

2013-03-31 03:48:12

Wow I am impressed.

(I dreamed of Africa ) was an amazing movie , very touching and convincing. The cast was perfect , Kim Basinger should be nominated for an Oscar for her amazing astounding acting . I loved the interview with the real ( Kuki Gallman) which (Basinger) plays her . She's an Italian women who goes to Africa with her newly husband and her son to forget her old past and even for a change , and the funny thing she doesn't know what she's doing . I thought that the writing and the acting were amazing , the story is very interesting and moving , a new unique experience. what could I say ? a good way to spend your time.

FlickJunkie-2 2013-03-30 14:39:19

Magnificent scenery emphasized at the expense of the story

This film was a fluff piece that succeeded better as a showcase for KimBassinger and Africa's natural beauty than it did at telling this truestory. The first hour of the film was a succession of Kodak momentsdepicting the romantic splendor of Africa and how idyllic it would be tolive there. Although they showed the occasional storm and threatening wildanimal, every effort was made to emphasize the positives. They glossed overlittle things like the oppressive heat (Kenya straddles the equator but noone in the film ever broke a sweat), insects (not a mosquito in sight), andthe fact that the rainy season is three months long and it often rainsnonstop for weeks. The first hour seemed more like an advertisement by theKenyan ministry of tourism than a feature film. It wasn't until the secondhour that the story really centered on the characters.Filming Africa is a cinematographer's dream. Unfortunately, Director HughHudson seems to have been so enamored with creating beautiful photography(and it was truly magnificent) that he rushed through the dramatic elementsto get to the next helicopter shot of wild animals loping across the plains. Many of the important dramatic scenes were not allowed to fully develop,giving a snippet and then cutting away to a completely unrelated scene. This took much of the impact out of the film. One example is the egghanging over the bed. A big point was made over the fact that Paolo had putsomething in the egg. Yet, we never learn what it is. Why tease us withthis tidbit if he is not going to follow through?The film had strong conservationist undertones, but they were tastefullydone and not overly preachy. The point was made that poaching to huntelephants for ivory is illegal and unconscionable, but it was presented in away that wasn't strident and smug. The scenes of dead elephants made thestatement in a poignant way, much better than any dialogue could have. Kim Basinger was excellent as Kuki. She went with a more natural look whichwas very flattering. The understated makeup used in the film revealed thateven at 47, she is still one of the most beautiful women on the planet. However, after a three-year hiatus since L.A. Confidential, she deliveredher second consecutive acting triumph, proving that she is more than just apretty face. Her acting was far more genuine and mature than any role I hadseen her play before. After having read an interview she gave about thefilm, it is clear that Basinger is a strong conservationist and naturalistand she identified strongly with her role, which imbued her performance withgreat conviction and believability. This film was good, but it could have been much better. I rated it a 7/10. The locations and photography were marvelous, but the story's power wasfrayed by inattention to basic filmmaking tenets. If Hudson had spent moretime developing the characters and creating continuity for the story, itwould have been an exceptional film.

2013-03-25 09:20:55

Awkward but strangely compelling

I Dreamed of Africa plays a like a series of inconsistent vignettes. Atfirst this approach seems awful (!), and the structure is that of atelemovie, however there is something strangely compelling about thisfilm.Kim Basinger is dreadfully wooden, but the locations and beauty of theatmosphere lend a certain charm and thoughtful nature to thisfilm.I give it 2.5 stars.

Priscillah Mooketsane 2013-03-25 03:34:47

After 6 years, still kicking

Watched the movie recently, it rocks from the begging to the end. Funeral scenes so touching.Keep it up guys

mnlauer 2013-03-15 11:20:46

Interesting, more so after knowing it was based on fact.

I Dreamed of Africa could have been a better movie, but I became moresatisfied with it after seeing that it stayed pretty close to the realstory.Some have criticized the film because they said it showed no problem withmalaria, and the people looked as if they were never sweating in Africa'sheat.The 100,000 acre ranch in Africa is located at an altitude of 6000 feetabove sea level, and there is no malaria problem there. It is probablysomewhat cooler there than other places in Africa also.I found the film to be pretty good, but I believe the nude scene withBassinger and her film husband was unnecessary. Does Hollywood believethat every film has to have nudity?

Blake French 2013-03-14 15:20:28

Although visually enticing, the film is dull, shameless, and contrived. ** out of ****.

I DREAMED OF AFRICA / (2000) "I Dreamed of Africa," the true story of Kuki Gallmann, is a dull, slowmoving journey into the gorgeous heart of Africa. Although visuallyenticing, this material seems more appropriate as an autobiography book. Ifelt the movie would be more at home with audiences if released around threedecades ago. Hugh Hudson ("Chariots of Fire") tries to create his drama withan old fashioned appearance. To his own demise, however, the directorsucceeds. Watching Kim Basinger and Vincent Perez on screen is like studyingforsaken lore; not worthy of magnificent cinematic filming.Kim Basinger is the middle aged Kuki Gallmann, a struggling divorced parentliving in 1972 while nurturing her young son, Emanuele. She lives in Italynear her snobbish mother, Franca (Eva Marie Saint) who likes a customarylifestyle, but Kuki herself is ready for change. Kuki soon marries Paolo (Vincent Perez), and then, much to her mother'salarm, moves to Kenya, Africa. Her family buys a small ranch near the GreatRift Valley and purchases huge amounts of property. In this admirablelandscape, the filmmakers capture the gleaming life of Africa exquisitely.The scenery and wildlife are filmed with an inspirational and harmoniousmelody. This story is disheartening, phony, sketchy, melodramatic, and lifeless. Itfeels contrived, lacking conflict, irony, romance, and intrigue. KimBasinger and Vincent Perez form no relationship with their characters. Themost passion we witness between them is a short sensual sequence in whichthe two briefly make love. From a so-called lush and emotional production,the audience requires much more than what the film offers.Instead of forming active participation with a goal or problem that thefilm's woman of admirable exploits must overcome, the movie assignsseparated incidences involving Kuki to compensate for the lack of tension.Here are some of the occurrence and the problems with each:1) Kuki's son is sent off to school as she and her husband struggleemotionally. (There is no development of Emanuele. Therefore, we do not carealong with the characters.)2) Kuki's cattle are being infected with deadly diseases by a local NativeAmerican tribe. (There is no examination of the Indians, therefore we arenot able to follow along with Kuki's protesting.)3) Kuki must deal with the fear of Paolo being killed on dangerous huntingtrips he takes with his friends. (Paolo and Kuki never create chemistry, sothe audience may not buy them as a close couple.) 4) Kuki becomes rugged after protecting her property from wild animals,preparing the ranch for a disastrous sandstorm, and teaming up with friendsto rid her land of evil poachers. (How do the natives make a living?Farming? Ranching? The film does not even investigate the land in which thecharacters live. How are we supposed to become involved with Kuki's propertyconflicts?) 5) Kuki must deal the compiling stresses of being a ranch hand in Africa,especially when people close to her heart pass away. (I did not care thatmuch about the characters.)The film's obvious dialogue explains nearly every nugget within the story.Kuki's extremely important character is development orally; personalitiesare replaced with wordy clarification. Moreover, we witness none of thecrucial events of the plot, like Kuki's previous marriage and her divorce,nor the childhood of Emanuele. If the writers were abreast with colorfulsubtext, or the least bit clever in their abilities, the movie still mayhave recovered from this flaw. However, screenwriters Paula Milne and SusanShilliday are much to blunt to be effective. I question the quality of Kim Basinger's performance here. At certain timesin the film she captures her character's deprived solitude flawlessly and atothers she looks as if in a melodramatic soap opera episode. Thispotentially effective actress (who dazzled in the Oscar Nominated thriller"LA Confidential") seems to be held back by the film, which does not allowher much leeway to explore her character. Vincent Perez is good in his role,but like most side performers here, his only purpose is to aid indevelopment of Kuki's emotional status. "I Dreamed of Africa" is not the worst movie in release at this time, butperhaps the most sappy. Kim Basinger's overacting, the filmmakers shamelessusage of African territory, and the many burdens placed upon the maincharacter lead to a conclusion of remote emptiness. The audience walks awaywith a feeling of unsatisfied hollowness. I almost feel guilty fornegatively criticizing a movie about a person I respect so much-but notenough so to recommend this movie.

elizabethbennett 2013-03-11 05:38:39

I could relate....

I caught this movie on Bravo last night and I asked myself why I never sawit earlier. It was a true story about an Italian socialite named KukiGallman. The movie begins with her out on the town with friends and theyhave a car accident. As Kuki was recovering from the accident, she begins towonder if there is any purpose in life out there and if so, what is it? Itwas like the accident was a major turning point, wake-up call or somethingthat made her yearn for something more than what she had. She falls in loveand marries this man who is going to Africa to live on a ranch. Kukiremembered learning about Africa as a child and against her mother's betterjudgement, she packs up herself and child and moves to Kenya. We see thatshe is going through many transitions and adjustments from the gleemingsocialite to the devastating wiles of Kenya. We hear her say that shewondered what she had gotten herself in to. This was a woman who was chasingpoachers, caring for a ranch and having to do a lot on her own as herhusband was gone often, nothing that she had grown acustomed to in Italy.However, we saw her grow as a person and as she was growing, she wasfufilling what she desired, life with a little bit of meaning. It was tragicwhen her husband and son both died and so close in time. However, it ispeople like Kuki who should be appreciated as they work for the good ofothers and try to make this world a better place. I saw the differences inKuki from beginning to end as she dealt with frustrations, growing pains andall ingredients that prepare us for our purpose out there. Something I cancompletely relate to at this point in my own life. I thought the acting was great, Kim Basinger did an exceptional job. Ithought the music was great; I liked the version of "The Rivers of Babylon"and the shots of Kenya that are breathtaking. I have two friends from Africaand my mother did some mission work there three years ago so I have learnedabout some of the culture and way of life there. Africa is dry and hot butbeautiful as well. Kudos to all involved in this movie and to Kuki Gallmanfor sharing her story.

milbankj 2013-03-10 11:57:14

Not great, but enjoyable

The key to this movie is whether one understands the motivation for it.I've seen it a few times since reading the book after my second visitto Africa. I've been back to that continent four more times since. Nota great movie, but very enjoyable for one who has a passion for Africa,its people and wildlife.It doesn't pretend to be a story about the indigenous people andculture, or the wildlife, so there's no need for either of thoseelements to play a significant role. The key characters are still amongthe people of Africa, whether they're black, white or brindle. Afterall, Kuki, for whatever reason, chose to go to Africa and make a lifethere, and still lives there. Karen Blixen did not remain in Africa(somebody unsympathetic would say she copped out), so comparisons with"Out of Africa" are rather pointless even from an artistic viewpoint."Out of" is a good movie, one that I enjoyed equally, but it is highlyromanticised. Too Hollywood, too box office. Not so "I dreamed of".It's fairly well told, fairly well acted, certainly beautifullyfilmed...and not deserving of condemnation. It's especially notdeserving of criticism based on ignorance, such as references to thecharacters not showing the effects of Africa's "oppressive heat".Actually, based on my experience of six visits, I thought the actorswere made up pretty well. For much of the year, large parts of Africa--including Kenya-- enjoy a very mild climate.

skopi 2013-03-01 13:41:09

Dream is the right for it

This movie did play like a dream or maybe even like an autobiography - itwas disjointed. It was basically a bunch of mostly random scenes throughoutthis lady's life and you wonder what is going to happen next to her. Thescenery was beautiful, but that is the only redeeming value I could find.Wait for it to come to tv.

Joe Gerardi 2013-03-01 08:39:45

I dreamed of being somewhere else instead of watching this movie.

I could write a lengthy comment on why *NOT* to see this movie, but for thesake of brevity:Should you want to see gorgeous African landscapes connected to a decent,well-acted, fun movie, watch "Hatari" with John Wayne instead. Else, beprepared to be VERY bored.That pretty much sums up this flick.