I Dreamed Of Africa tries to be a passionate love story about a woman’s journey towards self-discovery and fulfillment. Instead, it turns out to be a long, drawn out saga that’s filled with nothing more than an incoherent story line and seriously sappy dialogue. Not to be overlooked, the scenery is a visually stunning tour de force. But the beauty only lasts for so long.
After a fatal car accident, Kuki Gallmann (Kim Basinger), her son, Emanuele (Liam Aiken), and lover, Paolo (Vincent Perez), decide to pack up their belongings and start a new life together in the wilds of Africa. What ensues is a series of struggles that test Kuki’s courage. To be more specific, what ensues is two hours of drawn out crises.
Based on a true story by Kuki Gallmann, I Dreamed Of Africa loses its momentum before it even gets started. Opening with a traumatic car accident and then slowly transgressing to Africa is just too jumpy for my liking. The process was actually so slow that I was too bored by the time the film actually got going. Not only was it slow and agonizing, but I could care less for the main characters. Sure, young Emanuele was cute, but where’s the depth? The character development was so superficial that it was practically nonexistent.
I did not care for the characters, and the actors were so brittle you could snap them in half. It was hard to stomach their corny ramblings about Venice invoking love, hope, and life. Puke! Not that I’m a complete cynic when it comes to romance, but this was way too manipulative and unrealistic. Kuki and Paolo had no time to form a relationship and no time to make us believe in their love. What were the filmmakers thinking? Put out a pretty backdrop of Venice and that’s all we need to convince the audience of love? Come on, give us some credit. Not only was Kuki and Paolo’s relationship forced and phony, but Basinger’s stale line delivery was excruciating. She would read excerpts from the actual book, which sounded like a sixth grader forced to read in front of the class, monotone and bored.
Not to be completely negative, Perez made for some pretty good eye candy and blended in well with the attractive scenery. And like I mentioned before, the African landscape is simply breathtaking. In fact, the landscape and wildlife are the only things that make this movie worth watching, and still it’s not enough. My advice if you’re dying to see I Dreamed Of Africa is to take some earplugs.
+ Ashley Adams
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