Barbara Ellington, Staff Reporter I DREAMED Of Africa is based on the true story of Kuki Gallmann (Kim Basinger) and her son Emmanuel (Liam Aiken/Garrett Strommen) who led a very privileged, but sheltered life in Italy, but daydreamed about the stories her father told her about the magic of Africa and made plans to live there. The story that unfolds on screen is based on Kuki Gallmann's true, courageous life journey. She still resides in Africa.
But when Kuki went in pursuit of her dreams she was not prepared for the unbelievable pain that awaited them. As the new bride of Paolo (Vincent Perez), she is filled with love for him and, combined with a shared sense of adventure, they begin life in a wild, beautiful land, with many surprises. They had to carve out their lives in a very challenging environment.
I Dreamed Of Africa is also a passionate love story of a woman and a man, who love each other even when she was left on her own at their 100,000-acre ranch for weeks while he pursued his own African adventures. They faced many life-threatening situations as Kuki fought the elements, learnt how to operate a tractor, battled poisonous snakes, negotiated with tribal chiefs, fixed plumbing and fought poachers on her land.
It took filmmakers several years to convince Kuki Gallmann to tell her story. She had written the book as a form of therapy during her long, lonely days on the ranch and did not relish the idea of details of her private life splashed on the silver screen for the world to see.
Kim Basinger brings her wealth of talent to the sensitive, yet demanding role. She captures the essence of a woman beguiled by the unspoiled and intriguing beauty of Africa, yet aware of its harsh, wild side. She was captivated by the romantic notions she harboured of the place, only to learn that living there would not be a fairy tale.
In the role of Paolo, Vincent Perez portrayed a loving, sensitive husband who though not always around to offer a strong shoulder, could always make his wife melt in his arms. But during the bad experiences they overcame the anger and realised, "we think we run this place but we don't, it runs us."
The movie was shot on locations in Venice, Italy and the Gallmanns' ranch was recreated on sets in Africa. The soundtrack is particularly wonderful and Jamaican viewers will love hearing Brent Dowe's By The Rivers Of Babylon, a favourite of one of the characters in the film. Costumes were, for the most part, interesting.
I Dreamed of Africa opens at Palace Amusement theatres today and also stars Eva Marie Saint, Lance Reddick, Daniel Craig and Ian Roberts.
Rated 'A' for adults 16 and over, the film was directed by Hugh Hudson with Bernard Lutic as director of photography and Shirley Russell as costume designer. Kuki Gallmann acted as production consultant on the film.
