out of africa

This past weekend, Neil and I watched Out of Africa, a movie chronicling the life and times of Danish author Karen von Blixen. The film is filled with breathtaking cinematography (my mom told me stories of seeing it in the theatre and being overwhelmed by the lush scenery) - that coupled with costumes from the early 1900s and performances by Meryl Streep and a young-ish Robert Redford made this film hard to resist. Safari style menswear, white Edwardian day dresses, striped bow ties with cream colored suits, and the best hat collection in movie history - with plenty of wide brimmed straw hats and felted wool.

More than a love story with pretty landscapes, the film turns poetic when it explores the concept of ownership during African colonial life - the economic hardships of working the land, relationships with local tribes that preceded the British by hundreds of years, the new colonists' vision of Africa as a prehistoric Utopia filled with expanses of land for the taking. The film is not so much about love as it is about loss, the biggest loss in the end being Africa itself and the way of life its inhabitants once had.

More photos here.

Out of Africa is definitely a film to be seen. Right now, I'm watching Sahara on instant queue because I've got a girl crush on Brooke Shields and I love John Rhys-Davies because he narrated one of my favorite computer games (and he's in Indiana Jones).. apparently those aren't good enough reasons to see a movie, because this one is horrible.

Blooming Leopold Vintage Spring Lookbook.. coming soon!