I DREAMED OF AFRICA / (2000) <br /><br />	"I Dreamed of Africa," the true story of Kuki Gallmann, is a dull, slow moving journey into the gorgeous heart of Africa. Although visually enticing, this material seems more appropriate as an autobiography book. I felt the movie would be more at home with audiences if released around three decades ago. Hugh Hudson ("Chariots of Fire") tries to create his drama with an old fashioned appearance. To his own demise, however, the director succeeds. Watching Kim Basinger and Vincent Perez on screen is like studying forsaken lore; not worthy of magnificent cinematic filming.<br /><br />	Kim Basinger is the middle aged Kuki Gallmann, a struggling divorced parent living in 1972 while nurturing her young son, Emanuele. She lives in Italy near her snobbish mother, Franca (Eva Marie Saint) who likes a customary lifestyle, but Kuki herself is ready for change. <br /><br />	Kuki soon marries Paolo (Vincent Perez), and then, much to her mother's alarm, moves to Kenya, Africa. Her family buys a small ranch near the Great Rift Valley and purchases huge amounts of property. In this admirable landscape, the filmmakers capture the gleaming life of Africa exquisitely. The scenery and wildlife are filmed with an inspirational and harmonious melody. <br /><br />	This story is disheartening, phony, sketchy, melodramatic, and lifeless. It feels contrived, lacking conflict, irony, romance, and intrigue. Kim Basinger and Vincent Perez form no relationship with their characters. The most passion we witness between them is a short sensual sequence in which the two briefly make love. From a so-called lush and emotional production, the audience requires much more than what the film offers.<br /><br />	Instead of forming active participation with a goal or problem that the film's woman of admirable exploits must overcome, the movie assigns separated incidences involving Kuki to compensate for the lack of tension. Here are some of the occurrence and the problems with each:<br /><br />1) Kuki's son is sent off to school as she and her husband struggle emotionally. (There is no development of Emanuele. Therefore, we do not care along with the characters.)<br /><br />2) Kuki's cattle are being infected with deadly diseases by a local Native American tribe. (There is no examination of the Indians, therefore we are not able to follow along with Kuki's protesting.)<br /><br />3) Kuki must deal with the fear of Paolo being killed on dangerous hunting trips he takes with his friends. (Paolo and Kuki never create chemistry, so the audience may not buy them as a close couple.) <br /><br />4) Kuki becomes rugged after protecting her property from wild animals, preparing the ranch for a disastrous sandstorm, and teaming up with friends to 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 the characters live. How are we supposed to become involved with Kuki's property conflicts?) 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 that much about the characters.)<br /><br />	The film's obvious dialogue explains nearly every nugget within the story. Kuki's extremely important character is development orally; personalities are replaced with wordy clarification. Moreover, we witness none of the crucial events of the plot, like Kuki's previous marriage and her divorce, nor the childhood of Emanuele. If the writers were abreast with colorful subtext, or the least bit clever in their abilities, the movie still may have recovered from this flaw. However, screenwriters Paula Milne and Susan Shilliday are much to blunt to be effective. <br /><br />	I question the quality of Kim Basinger's performance here. At certain times in the film she captures her character's deprived solitude flawlessly and at others she looks as if in a melodramatic soap opera episode. This potentially effective actress (who dazzled in the Oscar Nominated thriller "LA Confidential") seems to be held back by the film, which does not allow her 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 in development of Kuki's emotional status. <br /><br />	"I Dreamed of Africa" is not the worst movie in release at this time, but perhaps the most sappy. Kim Basinger's overacting, the filmmakers shameless usage of African territory, and the many burdens placed upon the main character lead to a conclusion of remote emptiness. The audience walks away with a feeling of unsatisfied hollowness. I almost feel guilty for negatively criticizing a movie about a person I respect so much-but not enough so to recommend this movie. <br /><br />