Meryl Streep, gives a moving portrait of Karen Blixen, an "older" woman from Denmark. The film, directed by Sydney Pollack, stars one of Pollack's best friends, Robert Redford, who plays Brit, Denys Finch-Hatton. They tell the story of an unmarried woman (Streep) from Denmark, who married a male friend, played by Klaus Maria Brandauer. He is the twin brother of her lover, who will not marry her, so she appears to feel it better to marry a friend, than face the fate of "Old Maid."
They move to Africa, near Kenya, to farm. This is where husband/friend, Bror ,reveals that he has no desire to be a farmer and raise a crop of any kind, thereby leaving that monumental task up to her. This then requires Karen to be in charge of hiring of the inside and outside help, all Black Africans, with the exception of a white foreman.
In her first months in Kenya, her insistence on attempting to make the inside help wear white gloves, as if they were still in Europe, makes one wonder how much the Africans resented this "occupation" of their country by these strange white people and their strange requests,such as the white gloves.
Blixen interacts mainly with the Kikuru tribe in the film and frequently refers to them as "my Kikuru." Redford plays Finch-Hatton as an adventurer and free spirit, out to explore what appears to be one of the last wild areas for man to explore from 1914 to 1931.
Redford, in a sense, appears to play himself. He has no desire to marry Karen, despite their affair which begins when she discovers that Bror has given her syphillis and therefore robs her of the ability to have children.
Bror moves out of the estate as a result, and Denys moves in. Karen's talent is telling stories and, as Denys comes and goes on his own adventures, she feels that she uses her stories to bring him back to her. There is clever, brief, dialog that is a Redford trademark, as well as a few of his physical gestures that are seen in many of his films. Watch how many times he buttons up a woman's dress in many of his films, the next time you have a chance.
One of the most erotic scenes in a film, at least from my perspective, and in conversations with other women, occurs in this film. It is when Denys takes Karen on safari and they are camped by a stream. She sits in a chair, with her head tilted back, while Denys shampoos, and then rinses, her hair with cool water from the stream. There is nothing overtly sexual about the scene, but women know why it makes their heart beat a bit faster.
Ultimately Denys begins to educate Karen on his beliefs that there is no such thing as "My" anything, referring to "My Kikuru" when she starts a school for the African children, as well as when she tries to prevent the government from taking the Kikuru land from them. She cannot understand why Denys, despite his obvious desire and love for her, will not marry her and she feels that this is the ultimate rejection. To say much more would take away from the beauty of this film. It is a long film at 2 hours and 41 minutes, but for the true film aficionado, time is not important when watching this engaging story. True to life, things do not all end well. But I have never felt cheated when watching this film, over and over again.
Pollack is at his best when he directs Redford, and Streep, easily the actress of my generation, is magnificent. Together they are electric. Streep maintains an unusual,yet ethereal beauty that matches Redford handsome face, if not surpassing it. The film won an Oscar for Picture of the Year and on a side note, I heard in an interview that Redford, who was playing a British character, could actually do a pretty good British accent. But, for some reason it was decided that he stay with his American accent while Streep used her Danish one. I would have liked to have heard that accent by Redford. None of that takes away from the film.
The story itself is actually based on writer Isak Dinesen's time in Africa. Dinesen was a woman whose real first name was "Karen," but used a male last name, to write under, in order to get published. The book is a fascinating read as well. It is in my top five favorite film, if not number one.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older