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Amazon.co.uk Review
Based on the beloved autobiographical novel by Elspeth Huxley, BBC miniseries The Flame Trees of Thika brings an eventful childhood in Eastern Africa to vivid life. In 1913, 11-year-old Elspeth Grant (Holly Aird) traveled with her mother, Tilly (Hayley Mills), from England to Kenya to help build a coffee plantation. (Born in 1907, Huxley was actually six at the time.) Her father, Robin (David Robb), who had preceded them, was waiting to greet his family in the arid town of Thika. Also waiting for them were lions, elephants, giraffes, and countless other creatures (the 18-week production was filmed on location in Kenya).
Directed by Roy Ward Baker (A Night To Remember) and written by John Hawkesworth (Upstairs, Downstairs), The Flame Trees of Thika isn't just about one girl, or one family, adrift in an occasionally hostile foreign land, but also about the dangers of colonialism. The Grants, their neighbors, the Palmers (Nicholas Jones and Sharon Maughan), and most of the other Europeans in Thika feel certain they're bringing culture to the uncivilized, without realizing what they're destroying in the process. Ian Crawford (Ben Cross from Chariots of Fire), is one possible exception to the rule, but he brings another kind of danger in his pursuit of Mrs. Palmer.
Since their actions are seen through the eyes of a child, The Flame Trees of Thika is never preachy, but the meddling of these adults--however well intentioned--in the affairs of the Masai, the Kikuyu, and other locals frequently creates tension. As Tilly notes, "It's like two whole separate circles revolving around each other--their world and ours--and only just touching occasionally." What began as Elspeth's coming-of-age story, becomes one for her parents, as well, in this sensitive and engaging series. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Having born in Kenya I recently watched this double DVD (1981 and 2005, 350 minutes) about Elspeth Huxley and her childhood story of her family moving to Thika in Kenya. Some say the story is slow. But if you read the book, it just follows the story and the hardships of starting fresh in Kenya at that time. All settlers and Indians had hard time there and they with the help of native Kenyans made the country what it is now. In 1913, Robin (David Robb) and Tilly Grant (Hayley Mills) arrive in Northern Kenya to start a coffee farm. But torrential rain and relentless insects and murderous animals along with the natives and other settlers challenge their ambitions. Will England call them back? Or the young Elspeth (Holly Aird) unlock the mysteries of a foreign land and open the doors to a new home?
I found the DVD very charming with beautiful countryside of Kenya and excellent makeups of everybody in the series. Excellent music too.
At the end of the DVD Elspeth and family move back to England. The last few minutes are on the train to Mombasa as it used to be showing beautiful wildlife of the nyika (wilderness).
ELSPETH JOSCELIN HUXLEY (CBE 1962) was born on 23.7.1907. She was educated in a white school in Nairobi. She left Kenya in 1925, but returned periodically. She married GERVAS HUXLEY in 1931. She wrote 30 books. She died in a nursing home at the age of 89 on 10.1.1997 at Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England.
Read 'The Flame Trees of Thika' (1959 and 2000) and the follow up book 'the Mottled Lizard' (1962 and 1999), in which Elspeth returns to Kenya. Nzuri sana (very good).
Having born in Kenya, I enjoyed watching the DVD's.
Watch, read and ENJOY.
I found the DVD very charming with beautiful countryside of Kenya and excellent makeups of everybody in the series. Excellent music too.
At the end of the DVD Elspeth and family move back to England. The last few minutes are on the train to Mombasa as it used to be showing beautiful wildlife of the nyika (wilderness).
ELSPETH JOSCELIN HUXLEY (CBE 1962) was born on 23.7.1907. She was educated in a white school in Nairobi. She left Kenya in 1925, but returned periodically. She married GERVAS HUXLEY in 1931. She wrote 30 books. She died in a nursing home at the age of 89 on 10.1.1997 at Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England.
Read 'The Flame Trees of Thika' (1959 and 2000) and the follow up book 'the Mottled Lizard' (1962 and 1999), in which Elspeth returns to Kenya. Nzuri sana (very good).
Having born in Kenya, I enjoyed watching the DVD's.
Watch, read and ENJOY.
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I agree that this is dated but I didn't find the quality of film too bad. The story is slow and gentle but that's the story! It still makes a great change from the American "cops and robbers" rubbish and if you want to watch a well told tale with no violence, sex or swearing this is well worth viewing. One for a quiet evening in with nothing on the telly!
I have never seen it before so I'm free from the bias of childhood memories.
I have never seen it before so I'm free from the bias of childhood memories.
51 of 53 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
What a joy it was to find this still available. I first read the book in the 70s, after finding it in Nairobi on my first visit. On hearing in the 80s that a TV adaptation was coming up I was wary, but it was beautifully done. It would be very easy for a film like this, seen through a child's eyes, to descend into gooey sentimentality, but it never does. The story is based on Elspeth Huxley's memoirs of her childhood in Kenya shortly before WW1, when her parents, with little money and a lot more hope than experience, set out to start a coffee farm. Every character, whether African or European, is perfectly cast. The scenery is beautiful, the storylines have everything from drama to pathos to humour (just check out poor Mrs Nimmo at her New Year's Eve party) and the music is hauntingly beautiful. Add to all that a most poignant love affair - what more can you ask? I envy anyone who's never seen this - you have such a treat in store.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
satisfying
A multi-dimensional, seven-part series about life on a farm in British colonial Kenya just prior to World War 1. Read more
Published 25 days ago by W. Hamilton
Incomplete DVD?
I thought I was buying a DVD with one entire film (Flame Trees of Thika). It appeared as seven episodes and does not complete the film. Read more
Published 4 months ago by JeffB
Enjoyable period drama
Watched this 20 years ago so good to see again; however on this DVD there is never any scene showing the 'flame trees' (the title) which we recall having seen in the original... Read more
Published 4 months ago by daisy
good series
i missed this the first time round and then it was on sky but missed first few episodes so i was very pleased when i was able to get it and i realy enjoyed it pity there is no... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Mr. Raymond Foakes
nostalgia perfectly played
I grew up on a farm in Kenya in the 1950s. The heroine of this lovely film (based on the book by Elspeth Huxley) also grew up on a farm in the highlands of Kenya, north of Nairobi,... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Dr. C. K. Kerven
The Blue Posts of Thika
Excellent viewing. Very good setting and the soundtrack is great. To the keener eye, especially for those with a fair knowledge of the historical background, there are times when... Read more
Published on 21 Jan 2010 by Dr. J. M. Kinuthia
The Heart of Africa
Anyone with a heart will love this story, based on the author's own experiences as a young girl in pre-WW1 Kenya. I cannot agree that the acting is poor, as one reviewer writes. Read more
Published on 29 Jun 2009 by Ian Millard
A Nostalgic View
I watched this TV series the first time round, approx, 30 years ago.
It stars Haley Mills and Ben Cross as one of the pioneering upper class British families who move to a new... Read more
It stars Haley Mills and Ben Cross as one of the pioneering upper class British families who move to a new... Read more
Published on 1 Feb 2009 by J. Castle
a lovely tale of life in africa
This story is superb,i had first had experience of the film as my dad went to kenya for 6 months to work on it,i was then 12,i missed my dad terribley but the tales he told us of... Read more
Published on 23 Jun 2008 by Mrs. S. E. O'connor
delightful
I had not seen the tv series or even heard about it. Thought it was absolutely delightful. Gentle, entertaining and an insight into life in Kenya at that time. Read more
Published on 4 Feb 2008 by Pauline Watson
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