I Had a Farm in Arfricah

As part of a general genning up on our next adventure, I've just re-watched Out of Africa. (It first came out in 1985 - don't that make you feel old?) It won a cabinet full of Oscars. What I don't quite get though, is why didn't anyone notice - between superlatives about the acting, cinematography etc - that it's crashingly dull?

The first hour goes like this.

Scene 1: Meryl looks out wistfully across the savannah to soaring classical music.
Scene 2: Low-level flirting between Meryl and Robert. When Bob's passion runs high, he gets out his scratchy gramaphone and they dance.
Scene 3: Meryl works on the farm and talks patronisingly to the natives.
Scene 4: Meryl meets a lion. Bob to the rescue! (They repeat this lion thing 3 times in all. By the third time, I was hoping it would eat at least one of them.)
Scene 5: Meryl looks out wistfully...zzzzzzzz.zzzz

Occasionally interesting things happen, like Meryl gets syphillis or the farm burns down, but they are thin on the ground in 2 and a half hours of staring and encounters with big game. Do you see what I mean? Or has the X Factor addled my brain?


In other news. I am very nearly not sick anymore, though I still need to take it easy. Friday is our last day in Switzerland, and therefore the last day of Switzerlady. There are boxes everywhere, though most of them are yet to be filled. I turned 34 yesterday, and had special breakfast of pancakes with maple syrup. It stayed down. 'God bless America', I say.