Instead of a true character, we only see the milestones of her life. After a car accident causes Kuki (Kim Basinger) to reevaluate her life, she decides to move to Kenya with her son (Liam Aiken) and new husband (Perez). There, they test the limits of love and endurance, encountering every natural and human hostility that would greet an upper class European family. In spite of her isolation and the tragedies that befall her, Kuki perseveres and in time becomes part of the African landscape she loves.

The movie is not horrible by any means. Few locations have the naked beauty of Africa, and its nature is seeped with such rawness that one marvels at Kuki's strength of survival. Nevertheless, other films have done much more with much less. As Kuki and Paolo constantly remark of Africa, this movie has a different rhythm, more of the stop and go variety. It suffers from a lack of plot and its dependence on disjointed vignettes that, although revealing, never cohere. I kept searching for a theme or two to materialize - a clash between Kuki and her adventurous husband, her battle to tame life, the land, and herself, etc. - and while the filmmakers likely wanted to avoid pigeonholing her life, we are left with even less of a sense of character.

Despite a weak script, superb acting bolstered the film. Kim Basinger impressed me once again. She commands this role with ferocity, especially with scenes between Kuki and her son. Vincent Perez, who has built a solid body of work across the ocean ("Indochine," "Cyrano de Bergerac"), has yet to find a commercial or critical hit in America. It's too bad because he possesses a unique intensity, not unlike that of Paolo. Charming Liam Aiken is a natural in his role, and Eva Marie Saint embodies every bit the mannerisms of a European elite who otherwise would not set foot in Africa but still loves her daughter for doing so.

This could have been a better DVD. Although there are some good features, including an HBO special, trailers, and score only track, I was disappointed with the lack of information on Kuki Gallman and her conservation efforts. Also, a feature on Kenya would have been nice.