Reviews & Ratings for
Simba More at IMDbPro »

21 out of 25 people found the following review useful:
A product of it's time., 20 November 2005

Author: gerry1019 from NYC

This movie has just been issued on an R4 PAL disc available through Australian retailers so it's nice to see a pristine copy of it at last rather than a very well worn Beta tape. It has come in for some unfair criticism as a racist tract which it isn't at all. The good or bad old Colonial days existed, like it or not, and its just anachronistic to apply todays values to life some 50 years ago.The film makes the Mau Mau out to be the villains, the Hamas of their day,and so thought the settlers. Only the most prescient of them saw independence ahead; this is set several years before McMillan's Winds of Change speech. Rank stalwarts Borgade and McKenna give good performances as lovers and besieged farmers and Donald Sinden looks great as the local police chief. View it for what it is. We can't erase history, good or bad, like we can airbrush cigarettes from old photos.

16 out of 19 people found the following review useful:
Something of value., 23 August 2004
Author: dbdumonteil

This movie may be accused of racism.Perhaps so.But you could also blame "stagecoach" and a lot of westerns before "broken arrow" as well :the Indians were the villains,just as the natives are here.Let's be serious!It was half a century ago and at the time the writers had not the hindsight we have today.The precedent user saw the movie through the eyes of the 2004 audience obviously the politically correct one.Judging by the rating,there are users who disagree and I'm one of them.

First of all,"Simba" is not poorly executed,it has a good screenplay,fine actors (Bogarde and Virginia McKenna),beautiful landscapes...That the Africans should be shown as primitive,cruel and mindless does not prevent some of them from becoming educated and wise:"I studied for six years ,the black doctor says,to save lives ,not to destroy them".Two years later in "something of value" ,Richard Brooks showed a native afraid of thunder!"Simba" is the British forerunner of Richard Brook's work.In "Simba" anyway ,the White are not necessarily the heroes.See how Bogarde refuses to shake hands with the doctor.And the last picture of the movie is a black child's face ,a curious choice for a would be racist flick.

7 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Great Movie!, 16 November 2009

Author: ptaylaw from United States

Some of the reviews of this movie are too absorbed with the alleged racial content. Although racism was prevalent in the white community, a better approach would be to recognize the white settlers' concern for their safety from murder and home invasion. Some people don't know much about the history of the period, and are too preoccupied with being politically correct by today's standards. The Mau Mau rebellion was an early example of terrorism through brutality and atrocity. Many Kenyans lived in fear of a Mau Mau raid and more than 2,000 were killed by Mau Mau. The blood oaths and secret society of the Mau Mau made the terror all the more extreme. Although few of those murdered were white, many settlers were extremely scared. They were particularly scared at night, and of being betrayed by their household employees. Simba accurately depicts the fear and tension of the period. There are fine performances and the movie is absorbing and exciting.

3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Amazing film about Mau Mau, 7 December 2011

Author: CarolinianDude from United States

For the historical-minded, this is by far the best film about the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya. The mood of the country at the time is very well reflected here. The attitude of the colonials and the Africans are both very accurately portrayed, as is the way in which Mau Mau divided both communities, both African and British. While the un-PC nature of the time may bother some, it is quite accurate. While the style of filming may bother some, if you watch it for the acting and the story you'll enjoy it. Wonderful movie about Kenya. As someone who has spent many of the best years of my life in Kenya, this movie will always be special to me, my father lived in Kenya from 1947-1963, throughout the height of Mau Mau, and he praises the way in which the film really captures the moment as well.

2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Okay, it is biased towards the British colonials but it's still quite compelling..., 16 November 2010

Author: planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This film was set in Kenya during the middle of the decade-long Mau Mau uprising--a radical movement bent on self-rule through occasionally violent actions. Interestingly, the actual number of Europeans killed by the Mau Maus was very tiny and the number of suspected Mau Maus killed by the British colonial government very, very large--though the intensity of the anti-Mau Mau actions were minimized in "Simba". From this film's standpoint, it appears that the lion's share of the killings were by Mau Maus and its sympathies appear to be more with the white settlers.

The story begins with Dirk Bogarde coming to Kenya to see his brother. Sadly, the man was killed just before Bogarde's arrival. Viewers' attitudes about the killing quickly change from outrage or sadness to understanding why it occurred, as you hear the imperialists referring to the natives in such paternalistic and pejorative terms. I loved how during a dinner party, the white Africans sat there talking about how stupid and child-like the blacks were--as several black servants stood there among the guests listening!! Heck, had I been one of these black men, I would have probably lopped off a few heads....or at least tinkled in their drinks! So, even though some accuse the film of minimizing the evil of colonialism, this was still a very gripping and poignant scene, as the white settlers were so oblivious and cruel. I commend this film in showing this, as although it tends to favor the colonials, it is not without criticism for them as well. I can't believe these scenes were not intended to provide some balance....some.

As for Bogarde, in some ways he's likable. However, he's also angry and filled with hate for the Mau Mau--which is natural considering the film begins with the murder of his brother and other friends are killed throughout the film. But, since it's often an action film, you also don't get a great chance to see what a fine actor Bogarde was. However, despite this, it's a good and often exciting film--even with its faults.

By the way, there was a bit of a mistake in the film. A man was drenched in blood and had dragged himself along the ground--yet there was no blood trail at all in this scene. Not a huge mistake...but a mistake.

Most Americans know nothing about the Mau Mau uprising nor a lot about colonialism in Africa. So, from this standpoint it's nice to see a film that actually addresses it--even if it is biased (and most any film would have been). As more of an outsider, I certainly could NOT condone colonialism and the paternalistic notion that the Africans were so 'childish' that they needed enlightened white men to 'care for them'! Sadly, though, as a history teacher I know that in many cases the self-rule that followed colonialism was as bad--if not worse (amazing atrocities in Sudan, Rwanda and Uganda quickly come to mind)! I am not defending colonialism--just making a comment about the sometimes horrific governments that have taken its place.

Emerging Kenya, 8 April 2012

Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

One of my biggest complaints about American cinema films concerning Africa is that they are complete pulp fiction and give us no real understanding of the continent. How could it since we have no real ties, even colonial ones with Africa. Simba however which is British made and shot on actual location in Kenya Colony which it was at the time this film was made is a good insight to the problems of an Empire in its last gasp and they knew it.

Kenya took longer than most of sub-Saharan Africa to be free because of the Mau Mau rebellion. But it free it became within a decade of Simba reaching the screen. Dirk Bogarde stars as a young man come to Africa to work with his brother on the family farm in Kenya. But on his arrival he discovers that the brother has been murdered by the Mau Maus.

This does engender some racial attitudes in Bogarde, understandable to say the least. Seeing the better angels of Africa's nature is Virginia McKenna the daughter of neighboring farmers Basil Sydney and Marie Ney. Dealing with it from a military point of view is Donald Sinden in charge of the local constabulary which also is staffed with native troops.

These players and the rest of Simba's film crew took their lives in their hands going there to make this film. Another American film on Africa, Safari with Victor Mature and Janet Leigh, also dealt peripherally with the Mau Mau movement and was shot there a year later. This is the better product by far.

Mention must also go to Earl Cameron playing the European educated black doctor who is caught between the white colonials and his own natives and this violent outbreak which is harming all. Cameron delivers a fine performance, his is the voice of emerging Africa and Kenya in particular.

Don't miss this one if it's broadcast.

4 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
A Well-Made But Excruciatingly Racist Historical Document, 17 August 2009

Author: Alonzo Church from United States

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.

2 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Leaving the politics aside, this movie is a mess, 30 August 2009

Author: blanche-2 from United States

There are others on this site who can more aptly discuss the politics present in this film, so I won't do it.

"Simba" stars Dirk Bogarde, Virginia McKenna, and Donald Sinden. It is the story of an Englisman, Alan Howard (Bogarde) who visits his brother in Africa and learns that he has been murdered by the Mau Mau. He decides to stay and work his brother's farm and renew his relationship with Mary (McKenna), an old love who lives in Africa with her British parents. As the fighting goes on, prejudices on both sides are voiced, and Mary and Alan find themselves on opposite sides.

Though the acting is good, the movie is a mess for some technical reasons, not to mention the skewed viewpoint of the film. The producer and director were somehow under the impression that Jack Hawkins was going to star in the movie. Consequently, they filmed in Kenya using a double for Hawkins, who was six inches taller than Dirk Bogarde. While in Kenya, they used a tall blond man as a double for the police inspector, but when they returned to England, they couldn't match him up with anyone. When Donald Sinden walked into Pinewood Studios, he had his hair streaked for another film, and the producer asked him if he would dye his hair. Thus, he got the role.

The landscapes are beautiful, but one is aware that the actors weren't in Africa, and when they're on the screen, the landscapes are projections.

Simba is an interesting film, and as a fan of Dirk Bogarde, I'll watch him in anything, but this isn't a great movie.

13 out of 36 people found the following review useful:
Poorly made and politically reprehensible., 12 June 2000

Author: David Atfield (bits@alphalink.com.au) from Canberra, Australia

Set in Kenya in the 1950's, this film attempts to portray the conflict between black and white in an even-handed way. But it can't help making the whites the victims and the blacks the villains. One token good black man (a doctor) is hardly sufficient to make up for the superstitious and blood-thirsty mobs that ransack the country killing viciously and without mercy. This film is even more reprehensible given the dreadful events now occurring in Zimbabwe where white farmers are being murdered by black squatters. I'm sure a black African audience would find this film further motivation to hate the arrogant whites. How can we sympathise with a man who insists that the blacks are "children mentally" and with our hero and heroine who insist on calling their native workers "boy"? I've no doubt that the film-makers were sincere in trying to promote a message of peace - but this peace is portrayed as achievable only on the white man's terms.

To make things worse the film is poorly made, with clumsy editing from stand-ins for the stars wandering around African locations to close-ups of the real stars with badly rear-projected locations. This constant shuffling becomes so silly that it destroys any chance the film had at credibility. By 1955 we really expect the cast to be on location. This is one dinosaur of a film that should be laid to rest. I'm sure the great Dirk Bogarde was bitterly ashamed of it in later life.

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