I Dreamed of Africa

Updated June 26, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

The comparison is inevitable: I Dreamed of Africa is like a listless Out of Africa. The film is based on the real-life memoir of Kuki Gallmann. Kuki (Kim Basinger) and her new husband Paolo (Vincent Perez) are united by a near-death experience, and decide to uproot, replanting their newfound adventuresome selves on a Kenyan ranch. In tow is Kuki's young son.

Surrounded by Africa's dramatic wildness, Kuki encounters all the stereotypical excitements: elephants in the garden, poachers on the property, radiant makeup on the face. Basinger delivers the distant glamorousness used in L.A. Confidential, although it is entirely unsuited to this tale of tough learning and regrowth. There is no real engagement with person or place (fine cinematography aside), and when tragedy strikes, it is of the melodramatic variety.