Customer Reviews

Flame Trees of Thika [VHS]

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When this mini-series aired on Masterpiece Theatre back in 1983, it captured my interest from the very start. As a single parent, I could barely wait for Sunday evenings to roll around for the next episode, not just to relax, but revel in the beauty of this story. The candor with which the historical events (both positive and negative) surrounding Elspeth Huxley's early life in Africa is displayed is both refreshing and heartwarming. I wish every child could experience growing up in a world such as little Elspeth did. As a previous reviewer remarked, this story was indelibly inscribed upon my mind and heart---I have never forgotten it throughout the years, although I strain to remember other stories and movies I have seen. Even the haunting movie score comes to mind more often than not. Since that first viewing, I have borrowed it from my local public library and I now plan to purchase the set for my personal video library. I highly recommend this movie--it is one you'll not soon forget!

Based on an autobiographical novel by Elspeth Huxley, this 1981 film tells the story of the Grant family - little Elspeth (Holly Aird) and her parents, Robin (David Robb) and Tilly (Hayley Mills) - after they arrive in Kenya to start a coffee plantation. The episodic production begins when a lion greets the horse-drawn carriage transporting Tilly and Elspeth to the site of the plantation. Tilly stares the lion down with the help of a poised shotgun, demonstrating her resolve to make a go of it in the rugged new land. After the Grants construct a home with the help of Kikuyu natives, they hold a housewarming attended by neighbors Hereward (Nicholas Jones) and Lettice Palmer (Sharon Maughan), fellow Brits who have also settled in Kenya. Meanwhile, 11-year-old Elspeth revels in the land, the wildlife, and her new Kenyan friends. While her parents are away, Elspeth stays with Mrs. Nimmo (Carol MacReady), a Scotswoman who corrects the little girl's manners and makes her dress formally for dinner. During the day, Elspeth travels back and forth to her home on a pony to feed her pet deer and pet chameleons. On one trip, she meets and makes friends with Englishman Ian Crawfurd (Ben Cross), a newcomer. After her parents return and host the Palmers and Crawfurd at a get-together, Crawfurd and Lettice Palmer, who is bored with her husband, Hereward, and Africa, fall in love and begin an affair. A leopard carries off a dog Lettice cherishes, and everyone joins in a hunt for the animal, including wily Boer huntsman Mr. Roos (William Morgan Sheppard). On the hunt, Lettice and Ian Crawfurd, whose affair has become obvious to all, provoke Hereward. Ian and Hereward brawl. A native whom Hereward insults with a racist remark stabs Hereward, but he survives. When the first World War begins, Robin and Ian both do service. Will they come back? That is the question that gnaws at Elspeth and her mom - and Lettice - while life goes on at Thika
Menacing leopards, racism, war, and the whims of nature vie for attention with a charming little girl in this six-hour production chronicling the fortunes of a British family in East Africa in the early 20th century. Time and again, it is the little girl - a dimpled tyke with a curious mind - who wins the viewer's favor. Her name is Holly Aird, an actress with a rare ability to communicate childhood in all of its innocent wonder. She portrays Elspeth Grant, an 11-year-old whose parents, Robin and Tilly, forsake an easy tea-and-crumpets life in England to coax a coffee crop from scrub land in the vast, open reaches of Kenya. The Grants lead an idyllic life, full of the romance and adventure of untamed Africa. But the film does not ignore the hard realities of everyday life: the racism of white overlords, the infidelity of a bored neighbor woman, and the slaughter of wildlife by trophy hunters. In her role as Elspeth, young Aird sets an example for the adults, making friends with shy blacks, oddball whites, a spindly deer, and two chameleons. She develops a special rapport with British hunter Ian Crawfurd (Ben Cross) and wins over priggish Scotswoman Mrs. Nimmo ( Carol MacReady) and gruff Boer Mr. Roos (William Morgan Sheppard). Hayley Mills, herself a winsome child actor in earlier days, plays Elspeth's mom, the neighborhood's nurse, and everybody's shoulder to cry on. Her well-starched British manners suffer a wrinkle or two as she adjusts to African life, but she maintains her good humor throughout. So, too, does David Robb as Elspeth's father, who does not cower before foul weather, arid land, and war. Lending authenticity to the film are native East Africans recruited to play the black Kenyans.

This is a truly great story and is one I remember so well seeing on PBS back in 1981. its so great that this is on DVD!!!

ENJOY!

One of BBC's finest miniseries. Hayley Mills is perfect and subtle and full of surprises as Elspeth's mother. Hawkesworth's adaptation cuts sumptuously to the bone, understated and pulsing with life. Shot entirely in Kenya, director Roy Ward Baker favors colors gorgeous and contagious, and courageous in the indoor scenes, with thoughtful closeup angles underscoring the accumulating tensions that orchestrate the heart of the story. It ends up a relentless examination of British Colonialism, but without rancor. Bitterness is hidden most of the film, peeking out at a few crucial moments, but in the end the indictment stands. For all its natural beauty, Flame Trees is a film of a big sadness, and is more lovable for it. Holly Aird is a revelation as Elspeth, sometimes seeming to channel the woman Elspeth Huxley became, curious and invincible. Elspeth's trusting friendship with Njombo, an African plantation worker, is a small sweet light coursing through the film, and her exploration of African wildlife is moving. If you missed Flame Trees of Thika, get this DVD, then by all means read Elspeth Huxley - the two fit hand in glove. Warm recommendation.

This is a fine piece of work with Hayley Mills in the starring role.The story is seen through the eyes of the child in the film. Set in Africa, before it was settled by the English in the pre 1914 era, this is a fascinating story. I will confess I did get a little bored during the first episode.It didn't take long before I was so hooked on it, I couldn't stop watching the 4 tape set. This is the type of film that remains with you long after you have finished watching it.

Although this video is from a book based on a true story and is from the author's life experiences, it is somewhat out of date. The story, scenery, acting, etc. are excellent. It provides a true insight into life in colonial Africa, particularly Southern Africa. A must see for anyone interested in this period of history. Also, an excellent film for young teenagers.

I love this series, mainly for the memories it brings back. About 15 years ago, when I was around 10, our family would go to my grandmother's on Sunday evening, gathering around the TV to watch Masterpiece Theater at 8pm. This was the only series that we watched regurlarly until it was over. It imprinted itself on my mind, and sent it soaring. I enjoy it now because of this. I don't know that I would recommend it 100% to an adult - there are a few weaknesses. But I would reccomend it for children. The story is uplifting, adventurous, moral, exotic, everything that sends a child's mind into its own fantastic dreamland.

This is wonderful storytelling on screen. Hayley Mills looks great and her performance is worth watching since it's simpy marvelous. I wish I could see more of her adult films since she is a wonderfull actress. It makes me wonder what has become of her movie career?

This is a must for all that enjoy watching a good story unfold. Enchanting!

I saw this in VHS format while living in Kenya back in 1982. I am going on memory as I write this but I vividly remember how much I loved it. It gives such a wonderful, accurate glimpse into the history of what the early British settlers of Kenya went through. While some people have written poor reviews, unhappy with the 'violent' scenes, one must remember that it was based on true facts. I don't care to see animals killed or violence of any kind either but to be faithful to the true story, they needed to be as accurate as it happened.

Of course, the scenery was incredibly phenomenal. It bought back wonderful memories of living in a country, filled with miles & miles/kilometers of beautiful scenery from the dry arid plains to lush green land, to the mountainous areas, to the stunningly beautiful Indian ocean with its snow-white beaches. Because Nairobi & parts of Kenya are a mile high in altitude, it almost felt as though you could stretch out your arm and touch the clouds while cruising down the highway through the vast plains. If you're unsure about purchasing this movie because of the negative reviews, you might want to consider renting it first.

The dvd is a sequence of of mini-series episodes from British TV.
The representation of African life in newly settled Kenya
is fairly accurate from other novels and movies that I have seen.
By the British settlers Kenya was looked at as part of the British Empire.
The young girl growing up here has stories a lot like
American frontier stories about dealing with the natives
and the wild life. I enjoyed the descriptions and pictures
of the life and the building of the house with the grass
roof. The bullying of the natives by the white settlers
was somewhat played down,
but the clash of cultures was really there.

THIS MOVIE IS A TRUE TALE OF A YOUNG BRITISH GIRL WHO IS INTRODUCED TO AFRICA UPON HER PARENTS JOURNEY TO GROW CROPS OF COFFEE BEANS. UNFOLDING IS THE STORY OF THE BRITISH INTERACTING WITH THE NATIVES OF AFRIKA IN THE EARLY 1900'S AND HER DAILY ROUTINE OF LIFE AMONGST THE NATIVE PEOPLE, ANIMALS AND HER FRIENDS AND FAMILY. JUST THE NARRATION OF ELSBETH'S VOICE "THE CHARACTER IN THE MOVIE" IS ENTHRALLING IN ITSELF AND WARMS ONE WITH THE CHARM THAT IS YOUNG AND INNOCENT.