A Major Disappointment

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

...is very high indeed!But,says the heroine,all that Africa gave me was worthwhile.Was it?That's the problem of the film:too few scenes display what she did for Africa and what Africa did for her.Too often,the plot gets lost in melodramatic funerals,the mother (veteran Eva Marie Saint,the star of "North by northwest" and "on the waterfront"!) discovering Africa and quietly trying to make her daughter see reason -that is to say taking her back to Italy- .That said,the film is never dull.Kim Basinger ,given the limitations she's working under,does the best she can and we feel her love for her family and the big country she dreamed of.The landscapes are very nice .The cast includes French Vincent Perez and a pre -Bond Daniel Craig.

As someone who loves African scenery and doesn't mind ogling Kim Bassinger, either, I was looking forward to seeing this film. It turned out to be disappointing. The scenery wasn't nearly what I had hoped, certainly no "Out Of Africa," and the story was, in a word: boring.I never quite understood, or was told, a number of things in here, such as how the leading lady "Kuki Gallman") in this movie and her husband, financially survived. He was out fishing and hunting with his buddies all the time and she was home building some sort of wildlife conversation. One almost got to the point of asking, "What's the point of this story?" outside of being some sort of travelogue. That's the feel I got; an overly-long documentary about living in Kenya. It gets boring quickly.Given the circumstances and scenery, this movie should have been fascinating, but it tedious. I'm not surprised it flopped at the box office and video stores.

I rented this film a while ago on video and thought it was a definite 8/10.I have since bought it on DVD and decided to watch it again a few days ago. Although not having the same impact as my first viewing, here was my opinion. I saw this film as a wonderfully photographed movie (based on a True Story) about a very strong willed woman "Kuki Gallman". In the beginning we see her survive a horrific car crash and raising a family by herself. She decides to marry a man called Paolo (Vincent Perez) whom she has known only a short time. She likes Paolo a lot and sees that he is great with her Son Emmanuel, she makes a very difficult decision against the wishes of her Mother (Eva Marie Saint) to move to Africa to live with him. Their initially idyllic life is shattered by confrontations with Poachers, Loneliness on her part (as her Husband likes danger and is often away on hunting Trips) and culminates with immense personal tragedy.The performances were very good in this Movie (including a pre-bond outing for Daniel Craig with an excellent South African accent) Vincent Perez was excellent as Kuki Gallman's Husband Paolo. Overall Kim Basinger was admittedly not up to the Oscar Winning Level of LA Confidential and did have a couple of poorly acted scenes, but also showed flashes of dramatic excellence and touches the viewer in some of the more emotional scenes, So overall her performance was quite good. Eva Marie Saint offered a solid supporting performance as Basinger's Mother.I have to say that it is obvious to me , film critics and a lot of others did not really give this film a chance and possibly compared it to Out of Africa. This is unfair as the film is set in different time and about different individuals. I personally found this film much more watchable than the aforementioned film but probably not as well acted.Hugh Hudson has directed a great looking film, but the script needed additional work, which would have improved the impact of some scenes.All in all though this film is well worth your time, do watch it and form your own opinions. 7/10

I DREAMED OF AFRICA (2000) ** Kim Basinger, Vincent Perez, Eva Marie Saint, Liam Aiken, Garrett Strommen. `.While I Slept Through This Movie' could've been the title in parentheses afterwards: Basinger, in her first post-Oscar win role, is actually the best thing (outside the gorgeous vistas photographed on location), as Kuki Gallmann, an Italian woman whose life changes drastically when she is persuaded by her adventure seeking new husband to go live in South Africa winding up with many obstacles to overcome and tragedies to endure. Based on a true story (the 5 most ominous words in describing a movie) the film lags on and the foreshadowing is heavy handed. I never thought I'd say this about the ethereal Basinger but she looks plumb haggard in this pic, then again after 6 months in the bush (and we all know how painful THAT can be) I doubt you'd look like a day at the beach either. (Dir: Hugh Hudson)