A Far Off Place

If only more movies were made to this standard. I saw this movie in the theatre when it first came out, and it was one of the first videotapes I bought. The photography is beautiful. The actors, especially Sarel Bok, are great. I liked that Nonnie became the main character in the movie. The combination of the books A Story Like the Wind and A Far Off Place is seamless in this movie treatment. And the translation from book to screen is near perfect. The spirit of the stories is maintained. The children I have watched this movie with have thoroughly enjoyed it, and we have had very interesting discussions on the themes of protecting wildlife, the environment and the qualities necessary to persevere when faced with life's difficulties and choices.

I saw "A Far Off Place" in the theaters. At the time, I wasn't familiar with Reese Witherspoon. When I was reading about her a few years later, I was a little surprised to find out that the girl in "A Far Off Place" was her. "AFOP" might teach you all that you need to know about poaching. It portrays Nonnie Parker (Witherspoon) and Harry Winslow (Ethan Embry) having to flee into the Kalahari with guide Xhabbo (Sarel Bok) after their camp gets attacked by poachers. Throughout the trip across the desert, the three of them not only get to know each other, but get a feel for the land. This is one movie that you're sure to like.

This movie about the struggles of these young people in a hostile environment, not knowing who to trust, and learning to know and trust themselves and each other, truly touched me. I have the tape and it is one that I enjoy watching again and again. Several observers have indicated that "A Far Off Place" is a poor re-make of the Australian-set "Walk-About". If they had paid attention to the writing credits, they would have found that "Walk-About" was based on the novel of the same name by James Vance Marshall. "A Far Off Place" is based on two novels by Laurens van der Post: "A Story of the Wind" and "A Far Off Place". Van der Post was by far the more acclaimed author. Several reviewers of both movies have commented on the animal death scenes. In this movie, in the Kalahari, the unanswered question I have wondered about is; what happened to Nonni's dog?

It's a credit to the actors and actresses of this film that they choose to work in a (intentional or unintentional) remake of the 1971 film Walkabout that takes place in Australia. Flattery is the best sort of compliment. Unfortunately, it doesn't lead to great movies. Far Off Place takes what was an amazing little-known film and moves it to Africa, adds a corny love interest, and of course includes some evil villains in an attempt to update the film for a wider audience. Gabo, the African guide, tells the characters "Don't look back" - well, Gabo "Don't look in the first place." Unless of course you promise to watch Walkabout, too.

A Far Off Place is indeed an excellent film. The main reason for this is the characters, the character of Nonnie Parker (Reese Witherspoon) in particular.

Reese's character of Vanessa Lutz in "Freeway" was, like the rest of the movie, one of Matthew Bright's bad acid-trips. The character of Nonnie Parker, however, is portrayed by Reese Witherspoon in such a way that Nonnie takes on a life of her own. She doesn't say much, we don't know much about her, yet for some reason, she seems as real as you and me. If you're really into the movie, you might even fall in love with her.

Reese Witherspoon has portrayed several different types of characters, so it's doubtful we'll ever know what she's like off-screen. I would hope, however, that she's just like Nonnie Parker.