Armchair Traveller: Africa – Episode 37
November 1st, 2009
Ten minutes of escapism with a look at some great movies set in Africa. Including Out Of Africa, Hotel Rwanda, The Last King Of Scotland, Blood Diamond, No.1 Ladies Detective Agency, and the upcoming (apparently excellent) Endgame, featuring William Hurt.
(With Hotel Rwanda, we have preferred to focus, for this episode, on the story of Paul Rusesabag rather than the genocide in Rwanda, as that is the human (and inspiring) personal story that begins, and is a central thread, of this film. It is a brilliant film and strongly recommended.)
Tags: African Queen, Blood Diamond, Don Cheadle, Endgame William Hurt, Forrest Whitaker, Hotel Rwanda, Last King of Scotland, Leonardo DiCaaprio, No1 Ladies Detective Agency, Out of Africa
good episode!! i like theidea of introducing the continents and am looking forward what you will have on the other continents! you pretty much mentioned every movie that i know of taking “africa” as a topic more or less.
there is actually a german movie “nowhere in africa” that even won the academy award for best foriegn movie in 2003. i haven’t watched it so i can’t rate it.
2 “war” movies: tears of the sun, starring bruce willis and monica belucci playing in the jungle of nigeria.
Black hawk down: starring josh hartnett, ewan mcgregor, hulk, and many more. it plays in somalia telling the story how US troops failed to maintain control in that area.
and finally my personal favorite “tsotsi”. it plays in the townships of jo’burg in south africa. telling a story about a gangster who comes into a certain situation where he has to make a choice.
also won the academy award for best foreign movie in 2005, i think.
if you liked city of god then you will like this one as well. although “city of god” is more violent you see a slight similarity between the movies.
definetely have to put “hotel ruanda” onto my to do list. still haven’t watched it.
I still thinking in “Revolutionary Road” is like… my head it stopped in this movie. Weird time happens. Lately watch cinema is like drink water. You drink and a while the glass is empty and you can’t remember that you drink.
Yesterday I see a movie very creppy, a good movie, rememberme to Memento in the felling about the housband with your dead wife and the terrorific felling of to start to remember something that you don’t sure that the memory if real or exactly. “El secreto de tus ojos” de Campanella.
Anyway. Maybe take a tripp to Africa or India, I was thinkig is this. I did laugh me of the people whom towards those things but when you take the floor the things are different, very different…
I watch the movie that you talk with Meryl Streep a years ago, a while in the tv, remember that I was make something a doll or something like that and, latter to go to another place and… hours latter the movie continued like… a eternity movie that never finally. Very very bored. The cliche story of love with the black man and the blonde woman of the hight society.
In the Hollywood’s movies, the people that tripp to Africa always are good and beauty and generally come back to home save. Or die like Leo Di Caprio, but you die and you are a hero!! ja ja, please…
Ibby tal about Tears of the sun, I don’t see this movie but someone comment to me something very funny and terrible about this movie, really about something that say Bruce Willis in the making. He want the same name for this movie, altrought to existit previusly a movie that the name.
The madness of the star/director.
@Tomas: I was thinking… an episode about crazy director’s cinema is a good idea.
Or crazy actors…
Ever think that the actors want to camouflage theyself in the skin of a personage for to forget themselves…
Behind all narcisist act of an actor the great insecurity is hidden.
Is like dreses of clown… make cinema is this, an ilusion that when you watch maybe make you laught but when you make maybe you cry a lot.
Adore this episode. Watched it back to back. Production/editing is sublime.
I’ve still to see ‘The Constant Gardner’ but that was one batted around the office yesterday trying to think of some more we could add.
Think the ‘continent’ or country feature is a great idea, lots of potential to look into the different themes and styles from country to country. Especially outside of Hollywoodland.
I’d be keen to see one on Russia, another area I think hasn’t been fully ‘discovered’ on film, but has some pretty significant directors.
@Juli That sounds a great idea. I’m sure Klaus Kinski would be in a Top 10.
Keep up the genius work Tomas, these blogs are a great way to get by the working week, always something to look forward to and already discovering so many gems.
i was thinking,i would considired a german movie “Nowhere in Africa”… its a good drama movie where the story evolved on how to adapt the life in kenya…
‘Life under circumstances is sometimes unfair’….
@ Gray:
“Life under circumstances is sometimes unfair”
love it!
@juli: thanks juli… revolutionary road is somewhat quite disturbing… when you think of it the life that she has, is not that really complicated… but if your not contented of what you have , sometimes people are looking for another means, where the drive of living is a challenge…even if your future is vague …but theres no impossible in dreaming of having a good life as long as your working on it…
i wont elaborate it anymore Juli coz the ending is so tragic… How come kate winslet in her character is cheating, for godsake its FOuL….
3 otters juli but the acting is 5 otters…
How about ‘the reader have you watch it’?you better watch it.. u might get bored along the way but its quite hyperventilating movie…
another thing is u better watch ‘500 days of summer’ u might can relate to the movie…its in the last episode of the movie is my fave part… thats why i hate the ‘WHAT IF’….
@Gray: Hi Gray. About “Revolutionary road” I have found sensations. Is a great movie but not excellent like for me is the best movie in the history of cinema “Se7en”. Altrought the trailer of the this movie is better than “Se7en”, probably the best trailer that I see in my life. I can’t stopped of see it.
You say that about the personage of Kate Winslet that she don`t has a complicated problem or something like that, I think the conflict of the movie go on in another direction. She and her husband are like two eternity children in an adult life. He can understand the things in the middle of the story but she doesn`t. And the personage of Leonardo Di Caprio it suffers more for her that for himself.
That movie talk about the “american dream” in the really sense, in the really sense that… NEVER IS REAL. the only real in your life is the present, and that you have feel in this moment and enjoy it or.. maybe not, the final suggest that!.
Is very complicated the movie, complicated and simple. The final is a contradiction about the previously in the movie, you think until the end that she is in the wrong way but… a final with a people living a un-happiness life, living dead like all is “normal” I feel that Sam Mendes or… I don`t see the novel… but that say Mendes is this movie is: “She lives in a eternity ilution for not die because she has the gift of the talent but not the talent of the live a normal life and poor of her… And the another line, in the final line Mendes say… Do she really wrong or maybe us are in the wrong place in the wrong way…?
I don`t think that in the movie that okay about better to live to live dead in life, but I think the movie speak about the better the honest act to a take the rules that kill us.
@Gray: Happens to that not all us feel equal, maybe a close the door to you is nothing and maybe for me the same close the door is a knife is the heart.
I feel that about the personage of Kate Wislent and the personage of Leonardo Dicaprio I see it.
@juli: different personality is sometimes leads into chaos…maybe i would say, give and take… understand with each other is the main factor that relationship would last…and on top of the most respect with each other…
[...] The Wind Will Carry Us, The Taste of Cherry, The Circle and Persepolis. You can check out the first Armchair Traveller: Africa – Episode 37 [...]
Another film for the list: ‘Shooting Dogs’.
Pretty powerful movie on the 1994 Rawandan Genocide. Good performances and music.