by Dr. Diana Stout © 2002
One of the most important figurative devices used in cinema is the motif, which reinforces or amplifies the theme and larger meanings within the film.
Out of Africa is a film about romance, adventure, discovery of a place and people, but more importantly, a discovery of Self—in this case, Karen’s Self. Out of Africa is rich in dialogue, music, characterization, plot, and subtext. There isn’t one scene that doesn’t embrace several meanings and textures as the story unfolds.
Senior Karen
The older Karen voice-over that begins and ends the film with a dream-like quality serves as a frame for the movie. She’s a storyteller telling a story about a storyteller who tells stories. She begins her story with the exchange of a gift for one of her stories–a whistle. It’s the beginning of a friendship that blossoms slowly into a romance and that lasts a lifetime. As Karen (in the older voice-over) begins to tell us the story summary, she gets ahead of herself and says, “Denys wouldn’t like that. Denys liked a story told well.”
The frame connects and concludes at the end, when in her older voice-over again, she tells us that a pair of lions are frequently seen sitting atop Denys’ grave as the lions look over the African plain. “Denys will like that. I must remember to tell him.” This opening scene shows us a frail, older Karen in bed dreaming of Africa as she then begins to tell us the story in chronological order: “I had a farm in Africa….”
This frame of reminding herself to tell Denys draws our attention to her age, and obviously in her mind, of her imminent death. This framing acts as subtext.
Possessions
Karen’s possessions, which take up an entire flatbed railcar as she travels from Denmark and is now in Africa, show her need to own things. Her possessions provide security. In this case, her security in the possessions is connected to where she has come from physically, financially, and psychologically. Her possessions are the best (as was her possession of the “best” brother as a lover) of quality and culture. Her possessions also represent the old way, the way of cultured people versus the wild, untamed culture she is entering. While she has to accept what isn’t her first choice and the best choice at times, such as Bror or the coffee plantation instead of a dairy, she does so because she’s been backed into a corner and virtually has no alternative.
Denys’ possessions, on the other hand, represent the new way of discovery: books, the gramophone, the biplane. This is also shown in his dialogue as he questions accepted values and beliefs regarding how life is lived, war, the treatment of the African natives and their land.
To Karen, Bror represents security, while Denys represents danger and adventure. Bror represents Denmark, and Denys represents Africa.
In the beginning, Karen states she likes her things, comparing herself to a mental traveler. “No need to eat, sleep, or entertain,” she states. Deny, however, is the physical traveler. We see this clearly at the beginning of the film when he loads ivory tusks onto the train, then walks away as the train leaves. Before him is nothing but the African plain, and he has only his guide and his rifle.
When Denys and Karen see the biplane for the first time, Denys wonders how they’re made. Karen wonders how they land, and Denys responds, “The trick is not to” (foreshadows end). Again, this shows Karen’s practicality and Denys’ sense of adventure.
Interestingly, in the end, you can see how their values regarding their possessions are changing. When the house is empty, as Karen has sold all her things, Denys comments, “I was beginning to like your things.” Karen responds, “I was beginning to like being without them.
The School for the Kikuyu
Karen’s school for the Kikuyu is so that they can learn her language just as she has learned theirs, and so they won’t be locked into having to live as they’ve done in the past. The school is born out of Karen’s inability to have children after she contracted syphilis from Bror. It is also the beginning of Karen trying to give back to Africa what she has learned from it.
The Coffee Crops
The coffee plants represent Karen and her journey to know herself. In the beginning, we see Karen struggling to get the plantation started–all without Bror’s help.
The plants grow and blossom, changing from weak sprigs to sturdy bushes that blossom just as she does, not only in her awe and wonder about the land and its people, but also in her appreciation of the climate (see the clothing section)
As the coffee plants mature, so does Karen. She’s rid herself of Bror and is in a mature relationship with Denys, having accepted that they will not marry. She’s willing to take whatever he offers, just as she accepts the duties of caring for the mature plants and readies for the harvest.
The harvest is plentiful, providing much work. She’s about to cash in, just as she has finally cashed in on life: she’s content and believes she loves a good man. She also loves Africa and her new way of life.
Then the crop, all the outbuildings, and all the equipment burn and are gone. Her life, as she knows it, disappears as well. With the crop gone, so is her income. She’s bankrupt, forced to sell everything, and plans to return home. It’s only when she tells Denys that she’s returning home that he realizes he can’t live without her and asks her to share her life with him. And then, ultimately, the love of her life is taken from her too.
The Water
Throughout the movie, water represents nourishment to Karen’s growth and maturation. In the beginning, Karen is at the mercy of the rain, which is the only thing that will bring Bror back as he’s gone hunting and won’t return until it rains. He’s punishing her for being gone in return for the “punishment” she gave him at the dinner table in telling him she slept with his brother before she left Denmark. She acted like a child.
Karen then tries to control her world, her environment by creating a pond to hold the rain, the water. She struggles to show the natives why this is important. When she tells Denys, he comments that she likes to change things, and adds that “we are not owners. We’re just passing through.” She acted like a teenager out of control.
Rain falls on the mature coffee as nourishment and reflects Karen’s maturation and appreciation of Africa as it nourishes her.
And then finally, there is the water seen on the plains of Africa after the rains, revealing the devastation man has created: automobile tire tracks scarring the land, and the debris men left behind as garbage. It’s a sharp image that Africa is about to change forever, just as Karen will be changed forever.
The Clothing
At the beginning of the film, Karen is dressed stylishly. In Denmark, she wears fur-trimmed clothing and a tiny hat despite the cold climate. She arrives in Africa wearing frilly but stylish clothing. At her wedding, she wears a becoming hat, which is small and offers no shade. She’s immediately warned that if she doesn’t change her style, the weather will kill her.
As the movie progresses, Karen’s style of clothing changes. Her clothes become practical, and the brims of her hats become wider. In the end, Karen leaves Africa wearing hats with very wide brims that shade her face and shoulders comfortably. Her clothing represents her adaptation to the African way of life. As her clothing changes, so does her attitude toward the animals. At first, she demands Denys shoot a lion because it’s getting too close for her comfort. Later, she questions why the cattle must always be whipped.
Karen’s Hair
In the beginning, Karen’s hair is coiffed and stylish. When she drives the supplies to the war front, the first words that Bror speaks pertain to Karen’s “new hairstyle,” which has no style at all. Her hair is uncombed and dirty. Later, when she is on safari with Denys and her hair is terribly tangled (much as her life has become), she allows him to wash her hair, smoothing the tangles out. This is the beginning of Denys getting into her “head,” and the start of their romance as it blossoms from friendship. As she matures in character and her appreciation for Africa matures, her hair becomes more functional and less stylish. When Karen leaves Africa for good, her hair is bobbed and allowed to curl naturally.
Health
Not only is Karen’s health at stake when she contracts syphilis from Bror, but the health and future of Africa are at stake because of the foreigners–much like herself–who have made Africa their home. After she has returned to the farm from her recovery of syphilis, she states the farm is “what I am now.” When Denys tells her it’s not true, she reaches up and plays with her hair. Everything she does with the farm from here on out is to improve its “health.”
The Muthaiga Club
Initially, the Muthaiga Club represents an obstacle. It is a club for men only, and she has tried to infiltrate it without permission. Africa, similarly, is a man’s country. This is shown in several scenes. When she is told she must move to town once war begins as she can no longer be provided protection from the restless natives, she refuses to move. Later, she is asked to provide supplies to the men who are fighting the war, sending them to the front via oxen and wagon. She’s told that it’s a dangerous journey even for a white man, and yet it’s one she undertakes openly despite the dangers. She tells Bror upon her arrival that she enjoyed the journey. She is not just fighting Bror and the other men to be an individual who wants to experience Africa, but she is fighting for the very existence and freedom of her Self as well. Only Denys appreciates the journey that she is taking and understands it. He shows this by giving her a compass as just one of his many. . .
Denys’ Gift of Flight
The scene of Denys’s gift of flight begins not when he and Karen are in the air but when they are on the ground and Karen asks Denys, “When did you learn to fly?” and he responds, “Yesterday.” Not only does this scene show the two of them as adventurers, but it also shows her complete trust in him as she literally puts her life in his hands.
Karen loves Africa and its people, and this is shown repeatedly: her desire to educate them, her humble begging (on her knees) to the new governor asking that the African natives have their own piece of land, which she states is rightfully theirs as the English had taken everything away from them. She encourages a boy with an injured leg to become well so he can become a cook. She keeps candy in her pocket for the youngsters, and isn’t bothered when they dig in her pockets for it.
The theme song becomes a prominent kinetic part of this entire scene as the music is uplifting, gentle, giving of its splendor to add even more to the majestic scenery. The music surges as the plane goes straight out over a cliff and heads to the waterfalls near the beginning of the scene. We cut to see her first reaction, then cut back to a high angle as they head back to the waterfalls, circling the cliff.
As deep is her love for Africa, so is her fearlessness despite Africa’s many dangers. This is shown in her long, strenuous journey she undertakes to deliver supplies to her husband and the other Englishmen at war, far away from home. It’s a journey she undertakes, despite the fact many men tell her it’s no task for a white man; it is unthinkable that a white woman would attempt it. The danger and her fearlessness are shown again during her one-on-one fight with a tigress, with Karen having nothing more than a whip in hand as she defends a cow from being attacked by the lioness.
Denys knows of her love and devotion to Africa, and his gift to her is to enable her to see it as few have seen it–from above. It is also his desire for her to see Africa before it becomes spoiled by man, as is evidenced in the tire tracks we see cutting across the plains.
The kinetics of their flight take many forms. First, from the human aspect. These are the shots where we view their flight with their heads in the foreground, as if we’re a third passenger. When they take off, the view is from behind Denys. Then, from the side where we can see Karen’s astonishment and Denys’s delight. Later, as they follow the wildebeests, flying close to the ground, the view is again from behind Denys, and we see the animals veering right and left, as if making way for the plane.
Second, their view is as if they are birds. As they fly close above an enormous flock of birds in the water–a huge white spot on the water of blue–the birds take to the wing. We see this view several times: from behind Denys, from the side of the plane as if we were a bird, and from a high-angle long shot when we see the spot shimmer as the birds take flight and the plane close above them. Then the movie cuts to Karen’s expression, which reflects her awe.
Third is their view of the landscape as if they were God, seeing Africa through His eyes, of His beautiful creation. We see a plane’s shadow on the ground and river, then the plane comes into view and follows the river, which is winding and shining beneath it. Then again, when we view the plane flying over the shimmering white of birds. And then the flight among the clouds leaves Karen filled with emotion. She responds by reaching her hand back to Denys, which he clasps in silent understanding. Her face is euphoric. Their love is enhanced by their shared love of Africa.
This third type of view impacts emotionally in the final shot of the scene where the plane banks around a huge cloud, then drifts over other clouds, the vast plains beneath, a mountain in the far distance, and with the motor cut off, in complete silence. The only sound now is the wind. One of the most moving shots for me is the high-angle long shot when the plane is only a speck as it flies around the steep cliffs of a vast crater. The plane appears like an eagle as it floats on the cliff’s updrafts. This shot also gives a sense of how vast the African topography is and how small man is in comparison.
Only once do we see the plane from a low angle, and that is during its takeoff as they clear the trees. The high-angle long shots are spectacular aerial views–the best views of the entire movie, in fact–and bring meaning to the theme song.
There are no special effects and no extra special shots beyond wide shots and long focus shots–just the pure, unadulterated view of Africa seen artistically through the lens in its rare beauty framed against its own splendor.
Other Gifts (and direction)
When she is lost while delivering the supplies, Denys gives her a compass, telling her it will help her find her way. She’s to find a spot on the horizon according to the directions of the compass and steer by it as she travels throughout the day. Later, when she offers it back to him, he tells her to keep it, saying, “I don’t always want to know where I’m going,” which speaks not only of the adventure he continues to find in Africa (biplane and safaris) but of their blossoming romance as well. The compass, along with Denys’ words, provides direction for Karen throughout the film. Her points of direction are the plantation, the natives, her relationship with Denys. When she gives the compass away at the end, it is done with the spoken knowledge that it has guided her well.
Berkeley gives us insight into Denys when he tells Karen that Denys likes to give presents, but not at Christmas time. This is our first clue that not only is Denys untraditional but will be untraditional in Karen’s life, which is centered around tradition as evidenced by her many possessions.
When Denys gives Karen a whistle for telling her first story, he tells her to write them down sometime. It is in the telling of this story that she follows his direction.
Other presents are: the plane ride that allows Karen to see Africa as Denys wants her to see it–through the eyes of God, and the gramophone that culturally leads her to experience adventure as they take the gramophone into the wild and play it for their entertainment as they observe monkeys listening to the music. The ultimate gift that Denys gives Karen, however, is his insight and wisdom of Africa and of basic living.
The Five Senses
Denys engages all of Karen’s senses, tantalizing her and us repeatedly. He does this through the sound of storytelling; through his touch when he washes her hair, dance, and makes love to her, telling her not to move even though he is deep inside her, and brings adventure to the cultural sound of Mozart with the gift of the gramophone; through sight when he takes Karen for a ride in the plane, lifting her to the heavens; through taste when he wipes blood from her lip which bleeds where she bit down while shooting at a charging lion, and the taste of meals out in the open. There is also the taste of fear, (safari on foot and encountering lions and buffalo) ecstasy (making love), and wonder (flight in a plane). And, he engages her through heart as he gives himself to her in body, mind, and finally spirit. Smell is the one sense not used to the same extent as the others, but then again, this is one sense that is almost impossible to show on the screen.
The Romance (and the Innocence)
In the beginning, when Karen proposes marriage to Bror and suggests that they might not be too bad off together, Bror asks, “You don’t think you’re being too romantic?” While she doesn’t answer, we know Karen does indeed want romance. Otherwise, why was she having an affair with Bror’s brother?
When Bror goes off to war and she begs him not to go, he replies, “You’re not going to go fall in love, are you?” She wants to. . . desperately, but tells him, “Not if you’re always leaving.” Again, this foreshadows not only Bror but of Denys leaving.
After her wedding, she’s asked by a young woman who has never had sex before, “Aren’t you afraid?” While Karen doesn’t respond, you suspect she’s afraid–not of the sex, but of her decision to come to Africa and to marry Bror. Later, this same young woman tells Karen, “I’m supposed to want to be taken.” Again, while Karen doesn’t respond, you suspect that indeed she wants to be taken. Only she wants to be taken romantically to heights she’s never been, and which later Denys will take her–not only sexually, but physically with all her senses tweaked and peaked as they fly in the skies of Africa.
In the end, Denys comes to her, stating that she ruined it for him in being alone. He asks her to move in with him–the fulfillment of all her romantic desires. He leaves for a short trip, telling her he’ll be back. When he fails to return, she’s left alone. Bror’s question and her response about leaving, which took place in an earlier scene, haunt this scene when Denys states he’ll return but then doesn’t when his plane crashes. Ironically, the plane represented freedom for both him and Africa. While he tried “not to land,” he did with a crash that ultimately freed him of a new life and love that had changed him. And it changed her as well. The entire African experience changed her. “I had a farm. . .”
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