Truly..the worst film ever

" OOA doesn't have a good plot because it doesn't tell a story. It is seriously lacking in a variety of ways. Please tell me (besides cinematography, actors, score) what is good in this film? "

First of all when people say what was good apart from the Acting, the Cinematography and Music there isn't a hell of a lot left that needs to be good for a film to work. Also this quote is a complete fallacy - 'it doesn't have a story'. It most certainly does.

It tells the story of a willful woman who seeks change in her life and in seeking it chooses to marry a friend who can make that journey possible. Upon arriving in Africa she finds her dream as a whole other beast - an alien world where she is an outsider - for being Danish among the Brits and for being a woman. She battles with these issues through the pain of her husbands philandering and the British colonialist dissmissiveness of the Africans while trying to manage her coffee farm alone. As she starts to find her path and discover her inner strength and wisdom a man comes into her life who has a whole other view of living and Africa. The romance that ensues is the meeting between two strong individuals who seek freedom in an Africa slowly becoming engulfed in colonialism.

That is one way of telling the story. You could just say it is about the struggles of a woman to overcome the challenges of being a woman in wartime Africa. Or that it tells the story of the love between modern minds in an archaic world. Or. Or. These are all valid stories. Yet the fact is that it doesn't really matter if the film has a plot or not, because this is not a plot driven film. It is a film driven by character, experiences, converging lives, historical changes. It is a classic Romantic Epic. Gone With the Wind has similar complexity of story as does Dr. Zhivago. They deal with love amidst great historical developments and the plots rarely go beyond characters reacting to their environments. Yet these are some of the greatest stories. It follows, very well, in the footsteps of great literature such as Kipling's Indian novels or Hemingway's Farewell To Arms or any of the sweeping Russian stories of love and war, to name but a few. The human struggle to survive amid adversity is as classic as it gets and what is at the heart of most great stories.

In addition to this the script is impeccable. The scene between Denys and Karen by the fireplace is as poignant as lovers arguments get.

Karen: I have learned a thing that you haven't. There are some things worth having...but they come at a price, and I want to be one of them. I won't allow it. [Denys bringing a woman with him even if she is of no romantic consequence]
Denys: You have no idea the effect that language has on me.

OR

Karen Blixen: When you go away... you don't always go on safari, do you? Just want to be away.
Denys: It's not meant to hurt you.
Karen Blixen: It does.
Denys: I'm with you because I choose to be with you. I don't want to live someone else's idea of how to live. Don't ask me to do that. I don't want to find out one day that I'm at the end of someone else's life.

Great, simple dialogue that rings very true - not to mention some of the great quotes - Whatever you say now I will believe - when they first kiss. Or Bror telling Denys: 'You could have asked, you know?' and Denys replying: 'I did. She said yes.' Brilliant lines, great writing and then gloriously delivered.

It's a critically acclaimed, publicly adored film and I think I roughly covered story and script on top of the acting, cinematography and score which already were conceded as really good in this film. So surely saying this film is no good and boring and lacks a story reveals no fault of the film makers but the fault of the viewer who is unable to engage with this type of story. Which is fine. Doesn't make the film bad though - just recognise that it is a great film in its genre and say 'not my thing' instead of having to justify your opinion by categorising it - objectively - as awful.

I dislike Requiem For A Dream - but I know it is brilliant. There. I did it. Your turn.