Date Released : 1 March 1955
Genre : Drama
Stars : Dirk Bogarde, Virginia McKenna, Basil Sydney, Donald Sinden
Movie Quality : HDrip
Format : MKV
Size : 700 MB
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When Alan Howard, a young Englishman, arrives in Kenya to visit his older brother on his farm he finds the latter has been brutally murdered by the Mau Mau. He decides to go on exploiting the farm and to fight the rebels with all his energy. He falls in love with Mary, the daughter of a settler who lives close to his estate. Although the young woman shares his love she disapproves of Alan's hatred of Blacks. Alan will eventually mellow after Dr. Karanja, a native physician, sacrifices his life to prevent the slaughter of a group of white settlers.
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Review :
A Well-Made But Excruciatingly Racist Historical Document
Dirk Bogarde, poorly regarded brother of a Kenyan farmer, comes to Kenya to find his brother killed by the savage Mau Mau group led by the mysterious SIMBA. Will he find true love, a sense of responsibility, and a proper regard with the indigenous people who are revolting against colonial rule?
Though this a painfully sincere movie illustrating the hardships of being a white farmer in a countryside full of people who do not want white farmers, its hard not to be somewhat appalled by a movie that poses the question -- do the native Kenyans who were part of the Mau Mau deserve to be regarded as men, or simply as savages. While, fortunately, it does feel like the movie makers are making the case for thinking of the Kenyans as humans, it's a bit of a close issue, as the lead farmer is allowed to rant about savages, and the police commissioner trying desperately to keep order, seems to have ill-concealed contempt for the natives revolting against his authority.
The acting is all good, and the direction keeps this particular plot moving. The opening sequence is shocking. The final sequence really is quite tense, and the way the filmmakers choose to end this film makes some rather unpleasant and unpalatable points quite well.
The problem is this. Do you really want to see a movie made from the point of view of the earnest but colonialist occupiers? Are you willing to tolerate something that looks like the film the French in Battle of Algiers would have made, had they access to a camera and clipped British accents? If you aren't, don't watch. You really will get angry.
But, if you want to see viewpoint of the English establishment just before colonialism was ended, this might be as good a place as any to find it.
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