Out of Africa

Characters tote rifles, as appropriate for the time and the locale. They use them mostly for hunting. A woman shoots a bird and it's shown getting hit and falling from the sky. Animals are flogged. Lions feast on cattle. A person slaps another. Hunters stalk lions with guns as one feasts on the carcass of a deer; they both hit one apiece.

A woman talks about having lovers; at one point, she's involved with two brothers. A new husband takes the arrangement a little too lightly, flirting with a woman at his wedding. The couple is shown snuggling under a blanket, ostensibly naked though only their bare shoulders hint at what has transpired. Later, she catches a sexually transmitted disease, syphilis, from him after he is unfaithful. After being cured, she takes up with another man, with whom she's very affectionate. (We see them kiss but not much else).

Characters imbibe whiskey and wine.

Parents need to know that this engrossing period drama based on the biography of Danish baroness and her life in 1900s Africa offers lots of historical interest and sweeping romance, but tweens and younger may have trouble keeping interested through this long film. There's no swearing and nudity, though the film certainly treads on mature subjects. There's a marriage of convenience, and one character catches syphilis from her philandering husband, which renders her infertile but doesn't destroy her. Some scenes depict animals being whipped; discussions about war hover over a section of the film; and there are a number of deaths to illness and accidents.

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