Both epic and heartbreakingly intimate,
Nowhere in Africa begins with a Jewish woman named Jettel Redlich fleeing Nazi Germany with her daughter Regina, to join her husband, Walter, on a farm in Kenya. At first, Jettel refuses to adjust to her new circumstances (she brought with her a set of china dishes and an evening gown), while Regina adapts readily to this new world, forming a strong bond with her father's cook, an African named Owuor. But this is only the beginning of a series of uprootings, and as the surface of their lives is torn away, Walter and Jettel find they have little in common, and must--under tumultuous circumstances--build their marriage anew. With incredible skill and passion,
Nowhere in Africa manages to bring you fully into every change in this family's life; it richly deserves the Academy Award® it received in 2002. A powerful, deeply moving film.
--Bret Fetzer
1 human relationships
This is nothing short of an exceptional cinematic achievement. I had not heard much about this film before finally seeing it, and I was overwhelmed by its slow-moving but fascinating tale of a German Jewish family choosing to expatriate to 1930s Kenya before they ended up victims of the Nazi regime, which was growing and beginning to bear its teeth. A man, Walter, leaves his law practice and goes to Kenya and works on a ranch there, setting things up to greet his wife and daughter there. Unfortunately, his wife, Jettel, has no intention of adapting or settling in to this new way of life, not wanting to interact with the native population, refusing to assimilate to their new circumstances. Happily, the child, Regina, adapts to and enjoys their new surroundings. The scenery is stunning, and one can appreciate in viewing the film both the difficulties of adapting to this startlingly new way of life but also the excitement of being a part of something wholly different. The strains on the marriage between Walter and Jettel are clear; they no longer seem to have anything in common, if they ever did. It is only once they have learned the fate of the family members back in German who refuses to leave that Jettel begins to realize that her life has been spared possibly only due to the fact that her husband "saw the writing on the wall", so to speak. Jettel's attitudes and approach to life in Kenya have slowly been transformed so that she not only falls in love with the place, she scarcely wants to return to or have anything to do with the Germany that destroyed her life as she knew it. This leads to problems during the post-war period in which Walter is eager to return to Germany to rebuild and restructure the country in a more just image. He has been offered a post as a judge, and Jettel is reluctant to return. Ultimately, this film delves deeply into human and familial relationships rather than the complexities of war and of the holocaust (which is treated more as an unseen backdrop or a "what might have been"); it portrays a rich characterization of people who are thrown into unfamiliar territory and illustrates what they do with their new surroundings. In fact, it highlights how people change and how those changes are often nothing less than surprising. Overall a beautiful film; it deserved the best foreign language film Academy Award it won.
2 Haunting
Can't stop thinking about it. Especially to anyone who (with family) has had a strong expatriate experience. What I got out of the movie has nothing to do with being Jewish, Nazism or Africa--there is a whole other dimension to the film that has deeply affected me, even if one could have theoretically removed all those elements.
3 Judge a film by the company it keeps
You can judge a film by the company it keeps, and amazon's always spot-on recommending technology tells me that fans of 'Nowhere in Africa' are also interested in the following current releases: Hotel Rwanda; A Very Long Engagement; Bad Education; and Million Dollar Baby. Since I've seen and am enthusiatic about each of those, I'd like to suggest that fans of any of those films check out 'Nowhere in Africa,' which is richly deserving of its 2002 Academy Award for best foreign language film.
Pay no attention to other critiques on this page about needing to understand German, or about not being able to understand the subtleties of the dialogue because it's not in English. That's hogwash. The subtitles here are excellent, as is the acting, most notably by Juliane Kšhler and Merab Ninidze as lead protagonists Jettel and Walter Redlich. These are great actors who skillfully portray every nuance of their actions and feelings in a way that transcends any language barrier.
My only complaint is that director Caroline Link could have been a bit more judcious about the editing process. At 2 hours 21 minutes, the film feels about 15 minutes too long and drags at stretches. That's a small quibble in the face of the overall quality of this production.
4 It's easy to see why this film won an Oscar...
It has an epic scope and deals with serious issues -- how one group exploits and oppresses another.
Set in the period before, during, and after World War II, this movie tells the story of a an upper middle class Jewish family fortunate enough to get out of Germany in time. They end up starting from scratch in Kenya, where life for them is very different and very difficult. The family members (a father joined by his wife and young daughter) have varying degrees of difficulty in adopting to this new country and relating to the Africans who work the farms they are managing. The father -- a lawyer in Germany -- respects the Kenyan staff and immediately sets about learning the language. The mother has a more difficult time adjusting and wants the Kenyan cook (on whom they are deeply dependant) to speak German and resists learning the language. The young daughter quickly becomes assimilated, since her playmates in the isolated farm are Kenyans. As they struggle to survive and adjust, news reaches them from time to time about what's happening to the Jews in Germany (including their family).
My only criticism is that this film could have been edited to make it more suitable for family viewing -- older children and teenagers -- which it isn't, in my opinion. You really couldn't show it in a high school, for example, although the content on the whole would be terrific for a conversation on a number of important topics, including cultural differences.
But -- there are a couple of scenes of animals being slaughtered (and people eating VERY fresh meat) that turned my stomach, as well as some very explicit sex scenes. BOth of these kinds of scenes were really gratuitous to what the movie was intending to say, in my opinion. Otherwise, this movie is outstanding -- it really provokes thoughts about how we regard others who are different -- whether Jewish or Kenyan -- and how we deal with diversity with respect without losing our identity completely.
5 Subtitle Nightmare
Looks like a great film, only... can't understand a word. Germans hear and understand all the dialogue while those of us who know only English have to figure out what's being said and, more importantly, what's being felt. Subtitled questions go unanswered. Beware this DVD. My wife saw this film in a theater and swears the subtitles helped her follow the story. This DVD does no such thing. Know German, or else.
6 "What I've learned here is how important differences are."
Establishing cultural contrasts in the opening scenes--German children playing in snow alternating with scenes of an African riding a bicycle through the dry, hot plains--director Caroline Link creates a sensitive portrait of the Redlich family, German Jews who acknowledge the rising anti-Semitism in Breslau in 1938 and abandon Germany for Africa. Walter Redlich (Merab Ninidze), his wife Jettel (Juliane Kohler), and young daughter Regina (Lea Kurka), forced to leave their extended family behind, relocate to a remote, subsistence level farm in Kenya.
Regina, like all children, quickly becomes fascinated by her new life and the cultures she discovers. Walter, now working as a farm manager instead of as a lawyer, and spoiled Jettel, who has brought along her Rosenthal china instead of a refrigerator, face more immediate difficulties acclimating to the culture and their changed circumstances.
Director Link places the emphasis here on the impossibility of the family's "fitting in" because of the differences in language, race, education, religion, and former lifestyle. Their African cook Owuor (elegantly played by Sidede Onyulo), however, helps them adjust to their new lives, and a warm relationship evolves between them, especially with young Regina. When war breaks out, Walter is interned by the British, later joining Operation J, a group of Jews Against Hitler. Jettel must recognize the realities of life, adapting to what is, rather than what used to be.
Link focuses on Africa, not the Holocaust, revealing what is happening in Europe through letters, not through direct scenes. Merab Ninidze plays a realistic Walter, agonizing over the fate of his family in Germany and impatient with Jettel's spoiled petulance in Africa. Juliane Kohler movingly portrays Jettel's transformation from protected wife to a woman with goals, totally committed to making the farm work and freed from the social restrictions in Germany. Lea Kurka, outstanding as the young Regina, has the enthusiasm of youth, an unrestrained love for Owuor and the African children she meets, and the ability to accept being an outsider at the British school she attends, resented because of her academic success and German roots. Eventually, the family must decide where, if anyplace, they really "belong" and whether to accept repatriation.
The cinematography by Gernot Roll emphasizes the harsh reality of life and its day-to-day tedium, not the romantic sunrise-on-the-Serengeti shots of many other African films. Academy Award winner in 2002 for Best Foreign Film, the film emphasizes real life, real hardships, and real cultural differences, stressing the innate belief that humans, no matter how tolerant of other cultures, function most effectively and most happily within a shared heritage. Mary Whipple
7 A New Life in Africa
Nowhere in Africa is a beautiful story regarding a secular family that is Jewish in name only. Religious Jews would not consider them as numbering among their own---but this doesn't deter Adolph Hitler from desiring their extinction. Genetics is all that matters to the Nazis. The father, Walter, a young attorney, isn't naive and realizes that he and his wife Jettel, along with their daughter Regina must leave Germany as rapidly as possible. Of all places, he opts for Kenya. The story revolves around the challenges confronting them in their new surroundings. They initially are compelled to earn their livelihood as mere tenant farmers who are despised by the British landowner. Jettel loses respect for Walter and wrongly blames him for their plight. Regina is confused but makes fast friends with the African cook Owuor. The family bond is under tremendous stress as the world war follows then even to the African wilderness. We observe Regina turning into a young lady. Will the marriage survive? Can bigotry be defeated, or at least rendered more tolerable? These are the central questions to be resolved. It is not difficult to see why Nowhere in Africa earned the 2002 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film.
8 Haunting and powerful movie !
Inspired by the biography of Stephan Zweig , this movie focuses around the tragedy of a jew marriage who decide to live in Kenia , to avoid to be victim of the Nazis . The slow but progressive adaptaton to the costumes and way of of living of the native people , the engagement with their rituals ,and the shocking of this inmense wasteland and arresting images in the middle of the heart of Africa will make for you to experience a unequaled journey .
Once more the emigration is the question to solve . How long would you spent in a country with so many differences in almost the possible issues for you think ?
The barrier of the language , the unbearable heat ,the search for water , the food , the loneliness and the ancestral rituals . And add all these inconvenients , the uncertainness about the disinformation about what's going on in Germany with news through an old radio and unexpected letters that come from time to time . He is a lawyer and obviously in such agresive environment he lives with the illusion of get back to huis beloved German. But meanwhile he has to face the difficulties of life ; the rebelness of his wife and daughter for stay in the jungle .
But there will be changes of different nature that progressively will twist the fate of every one of them . The unavoidable contrast between ancestral beliefs , the deep sense of humanity will come from a native whose performance steals the show in this poignant and interesting story .
Don't miss this work . And don't doubt to acquire . You will be widely rewarded with this buy. Mrs Johanne Kohler is brilliant in her role as the wife and both actress who play the role of their daughter are superb , with great naturality and expressiveness.
Dazzling direction of Caroline Link and one of the best films of Gemany in the new raising century.
9 A superb movie, and no, it's not too long. . .
First of all, let me say that I see posts from reviewers here describing the movie as ten minutes too long, fifteen minutes too long, etc., - I respectfully disagree.
I've seen the movie three times with three different people (one of them my teenage daughter - teenagers, as you know, don't have a lot of patience), and I find the running length just right, and additionally, none of the people I saw the movie with were complaining that it was too long.
Second, I unabashedly loved this film. And surprisingly, the aforementioned teenager really liked this film as well. I was certain she would complain that it was B O R I N G when it was over, but she thought it was great, so perhaps teenage viewers in your household might feel the same way.
I won't belabor the plot or the characters as it's been done so well in the previous reviews posted here, but I want to note that one of the most interesting things in the movie is the mother/wife's realization that she has become a much finer person as a result of the years spent with people she considered sub-human when she arrived, and secondly, as a result of the things she was forced to learn and do to survive (and eventually prosper) in Africa.
She doesn't wish to return to Germany - she is a better person in Africa.
Even though she does reluctantly return to Germany with her husband, she knows that she will never be as complete an individual as she was in adopted land. It's a nice piece of character development that acts as a interesting sidebar to her daughter's maturation in Africa.
10 A well-acted drama that leaps over its shortcomings
Most movies about the Holocaust, however specifically or obstensibly, usually take place in Germany and have much shouting in German and moping in Yiddish. It was a nice change, then, to see a movie about 'the ones that got away,' German Jews who actually escaped the hand of the Nazis and lived and worked far away. Nowhere in Africa, a recent winner for Best Foreign Film, is the story of the Redlich family, who raise their young girl on the plains of Africa while WWII blasts away in their homeland. For most of the movie, it's an enjoyable little slice-of-life about clashing cultures and that underlying theme of the family's tragedies overseas. Link's nimble camera captures the country's harsh beauty, and narration from the young daughter (in her older years) is warm and subtle. The drama within the family (unfaithfulness and the like) wears a little thin after a while, and the movie could have used a little more work in the editing room. Nowhere in Africa doesn't exactly escape the trappings of its genre, but it provides some nice scenery chewing and some moments of stark beauty that make it worth a rental. GRADE: B
11 Excellent -- the best of this genre
At first glance, "Nowhere in Africa" might appear to be something we've seen on the screen before, i.e., "Out of Africa", "The Flame Trees of Thika" and the much inferior "I Dreamed of Africa" -- another installment in the European-in-East-Africa genre: Europeans newly arrived in Africa, cross-cultural conflict and confusion followed by acceptance, an "old Africa hand" lending support, a child growing up more African than European, the noble African servant, encounters with the local fauna, etc.
But "Nowhere in Africa", while definitely part of the genre, is better than the other films mentioned. Largely this is the result of the strong character development. We see husband and wife really changed by their experience. Adding depth to the story is the fact that these European ex-pats are escaping Nazi persecution. The fact that they can only do so by participating in colonial oppression is not lost on them.
The dialogue and acting are first rate, as are the cinematography, editing, and music. There are many memorable scenes, including some interesting ones where voices are layered over images in such a way that you can't tell whether the couple are speaking to each other or keeping their thoughts to themselves. Great work. Recommended!
12 An epic
NIA is an epic movie. The acting is great. Kudos to the actors for acting in English, German and Swahili. Even though the movie is 2 hours plus, it never gets boring.
13 a unique perspective on the holocaust
The German film "Nowhere in Africa" provides a fascinating glimpse into a little known chapter in World War II history. The film tells of a handful of Jews who, on the eve of the war, fled to the wilds of Kenya to escape the rising tide of anti-Semitism in their home country. The movie focuses on a lawyer named Walter, his wife, Jettel, and their daughter, Regina, who narrates the tale.
The foundation of the story rests on a series of interlocking ironies. First, these Jewish refugees find themselves being treated in a more humane fashion in this ostensibly "uncivilized" society than they were in the so-called "civilized" one they've been forced to flee. Second, the men in this dislocated community end up fighting against their own native country, eagerly joining the allied forces in their attempt to overthrow Hitler. Moreover, Jettel, although she and her family are themselves victims of prejudice and bigotry, still feels superior to and looks down upon a culture and a people she believes are clearly inferior to her own. Finally, as the war comes to a close, Walter and Jettel virtually trade places in their attitudes: he, once so eager to remain in Kenya, feeling the need to return to a post-Hitler Germany to help rebuild his native country and she, once so eager to leave it, wanting to remain in a land she has learned to love, a country she has come, in many ways, to think of as her own.
In fact, it is the transition Jettel undergoes throughout the course of the story that makes "Nowhere in Africa" such a fascinating film. For Jettel is clearly the most interesting and complex character in the movie. Haughty and coldly superior at the outset, she eventually comes to see the beauty of "differences" that exist between peoples and cultures, an appreciation that, paradoxically, brings home for her the universal nature of human beings. Despite the grim reality of what is happening to her family and friends back home, Jettel is at first unable to shake the sense of pampered privilege she has long taken for granted as a result of her upper middle class upbringing and background. But both the land and the people of Kenya soon transform her into a woman who is able to see and understand the truly important things in life - tolerance, acceptance, love, family. The relationship between Walter and Jettel is a truly complex one; they are not a conventionally happily married couple, but rather one torn apart by their different, often-conflicting views of the world and their somewhat shaky love for one another. There are times in the movie when we simply do not know where one or the other partner is coming from - and that ambiguity heightens both the reality and the drama of the characters and their situation. As the ever-observant daughter, Regina is a more conventional, less well-rounded personality, more a plot device than a fully developed character in her own right. Still, she provides a great deal of the emotional depth needed to fully engage the audience in the story.
All the actors are superb, with Juliane Kohler as Jettel proving a particular standout. In addition, the wide screen photography captures, with crystal clear clarity, the haunting beauty of the African countryside, bringing an almost epic quality to this otherwise intimate family drama. For, indeed, despite the personal nature of the story, there is lurking ever present in the background - mainly through letters received from desperate and increasingly endangered relatives back home - the larger picture of a world gone suddenly, inexplicably mad, a world that feels strangely remote yet which is all too real in its menace and influence. This isolated community may provide for these dislocated people a refuge for the body, but it can't provide a refuge for the mind and soul.
"Nowhere in Africa" offers a unique, eye-opening perspective on the holocaust.
14 Epic, but perhaps too much so.
Nirgendwo in Afrika (Caroline Link, 2001)
Winner of the Best Foreign Film Oscar in America and five German Film Awards in its native country, Nowhere in Africa begins with a Jewish ex-lawyer, Walter (Merab Ninidze, recently in Bride of the Wind) having secured the way for his wife and daughter to escape Germany in 1938 and come to live with him outside Nairobi, Kenya. Wife Jettel (Juliane Kohler, Aimee from Aimee and Jaguar) and daughter Regina (played by two actresses as she ages; the younger, Lea Kurka, was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the German Film Awards) aren't terribly sure what to think when they get there. And, of course, the breaking war isn't content to leave them alone to get acclimated to their new surroundings.
Everything about Nowhere in Africa is epic, from Walter's opening bout with quinine to his final decision on whether to go back to Germany in the late forties. This is not necessarily a bad thing, of course, but some of it seemed to be more solemn than it needed to (especially young Regina's friendship with their cook, Owuor [Sidede Onyulo, soon to be seen in The Constant Gardener]). As well, it gets repetitive at times; one wonders whether that was done subconsciously to add to the length of the film (thus making it more epic in scope, natch), or whether it was just a few editing oversights.
The film's biggest drawback is that, well, it's set in the Kenya bush country and the cinematographer took next to no advantage of that fact. Huge pan shots of country are seen only when absolutely necessary to the story; no leeway at all is given for panning out at the end of a scene, contemplation of Mount Kenya, you name it. If it's not on the page, it's not in the movie.
There is much here to like, and the story is told well, albeit more slowly than it could have been (without slow having the benefit of leisurely here). One wonders, idly, how this could win Best Foreign Film and the superior Rabbit-Proof Fence got completely glossed over by the Academy. Worth a rental. ***
15 beautiful film
This film is a poignant and evocative work about a German Jewish family that travels to Kenya just in time to avoid being sent to concentration camps. Jettel, the wife, doesn't appreciate the danger she was in, and she immediately dislikes her adopted country and the people she meets there. Her daughter, however, adapts quickly and loves the people she befriends and the experiences she has. The family goes through a series of uprootings that stress them further, and what's remarkable about the film is the balance of epic and personal scale -- the vast movement of people affected by war and the intimate joys and despair of a family. The cinematography is excellent and all of the actors are very fine. The film would be appropriate for family viewing.
This two-dvd set for the Academy Award-winning foreign film has many interesting features, and the film can be heard in German with optional English subtitles.
16 Truly exceptional !
This was an absolutely incredible movie, about a subject of which I was largely unaware, that of German Jews who sought refuge in Africa in the early 1940s. It is based on a true story.
The cinematography of the breathtakingly beautiful African landscape was outstanding, and the extra section on the DVD that explored the logistics of filming in such a remote location in Africa was fascinating.
The Redlich family escapes from Germany and the movie details the varying reactions of each family member to their new environment. Walter, a lawyer in his native land, becomes a farm manager to survive. His wife, Jettel, misses her privileged life, and their daughter, Regina, adapts most easily to this place she comes to love.
The family is aided by Owuor, who is ostensibly their cook, but is really so much more. He is their protector, defender, savior, teacher, and lifeline.
The details explored in this movie are fascinating and compelling, as is the story of how these refugees come to identify with, and even love, their new homeland.
17 Deserving of the best awards...
I just rented this movie yesterday, and I fell in love with the characters, wisdom, and internal challenges displayed so beautifully on the screen.
This flick displays a side and time of Africa not usually depicted in the usual award winning flicks such as Out of Africa.
Although Nowhere in Africa is indeed on the same level as Out of Africa, Nowhere gives us a brief look into the hardships of European refugees in Africa during a time of horrific world turmoil.
I highly recommend this movie to all who enjoy truly magnificent scenery shots and intense emotional drama. I can say no more.
18 "Nowhere in Africa" -- A Place to Be
The reneissance of German movies in the first decade of 2000's reached one of its peaks with this epic film in "Out of Africa" vein, a foreign language film Academy Award winner of 2002. Fairly conventional but delightful in many ways, the story of a Jewish family who had fled from Nazi Germany to Kenya is predominantly a family drama. In fact, it's one of the most memorable "marriage films" of recent years. Directed and written by Caroline Link, the female hand clearly shows mainly in the character of the family's father Walter (Georgia-born Merab Ninidze), who is portrayed as a very gentle, soft and considerate, while his wife Jettel (Julianne Koehler), who has problems with adapting to a whole new way of life, often toys with viewers' sympathy. The film contains numerous (clever and realistic) references about central European (not so Jewish, for that matter), African and English life and opinions, sports great music and cinematography and, simply put, is anything you may expect from an Oscar-winning film, which is an asset in itself.
19 The Life of the Robe
When the film opens we find character Walter Redlich lying on his sickbed, awaiting the arrival of this family as he pleads through letters for them to leave Nazi Germany. Walter was a lawyer back home but under Fascism the family status is rapidly moving from respected members of the Jewish community to 'enemies of the Reich'. When his fever breaks and he steps out into his adopted Kenyan homeland the cinematography is breathtaking and unforgettable. His wife is as ill-suited to leaving her status and comforts as he is to being a ranch hand. The couple undergoes many transformations, together and separate as they negotiate the treacherous terrain of a strained relationship. Their daughter Regina remains a thougtful observer and willing explorer in her new surroundings. A powerful film of a true story.
20 Moving, Touching, Endearing
One of the 10 or 15 best movies I've ever seen in my life. Say no more.
21 ACADEMY AWARD WINNER 2002 BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM...
This is a wonderful German film, which deservedly won an Academy Award in 2002 for being the Best Foreign Language Film. Based upon an autobiographical book by Stefanie Zweig, the film is beautifully acted by a stellar cast and deftly directed by Caroline Link. It is a film that will stay in one's consciousness long after the credits have rolled by. It is also a film that touches upon a number of universal themes.
The film focuses on an upper class, privileged family of secular German Jews. The husband, Walter Redlich (Merab Ninidze), seeing the way things are going in Germany in the 1930s with the advent of Hitler, leaves his law practice and emigrates to Africa, where he finds himself managing a ranch for an Englishman in an arid location in rural Kenya, while setting the stage for his family's emigration from Germany. In 1938, he then sends for his beautiful, haughty wife, Jettel (Juliane Kohler), and young daughter, Regina (Lea Gurka as a young child and Karoline Eckertz as an adolescent), to join him.
When they arrive, the wife goes into culture shock and is in total denial as to their new circumstances. Her reaction to their precarious situation is different from that of her husband, as well as from that of her child. Her husband, a realist about the situation in Germany and a survivor at heart, knows that they cannot return while Hitler is in power and is willing to make the best of the hand that they have been dealt. Jettel, however, still fails to understand just how precarious their situation in Germany was.
Once removed from a familiar environment, Walter and Jettel seem to have very little in common. Now that her husband is no longer a practicing lawyer, Jettel acts as if he has been diminished in her eyes. She also initially disdains her new, hardscrabble life and hates all things African, even the natives, treating them like dirt, until her husband insinuates that she is starting to remind him of the Nazis.
Their household is made complete by a very pleasant and affable Kenyan named Owour (Sidele Onyulo), who had saved Walter's life during a bout with malaria and who acts as the family cook. He helps them in enumerable ways, teaching them the language and customs of his people. Regina immediately bonds with Owour and adapts quickly to her new life and customs. She befriends the native children, learns their language, and prefers Kenya over Germany as her country of choice, notwithstanding its hardships and privations. In her nine years in Kenya, Regina, despite attending a British school, becomes as African in her ways as a native.
The conflicts of war soon make themselves manifest in Kenya, which is under English rule. The threads of Walter's and Jettel's marriage start to fray and unravel, as their hopes and dreams come into conflict. They are, however, always unified in terms of their love of Regina, an extraordinarily perceptive and intelligent child. Still, Walter and Jettel must endure and weather some pretty serious marital storms, as the self-absorbed Jettel slowly undergoes a metamorphosis, which throws her strained marriage into a tailspin for a time.
As Jettel learns to adapt to her changing circumstances and accept some of the changes in her life, the marriage begins to stabilize despite its continual strains and cracks. Upon discovering the fate of their respective families, who had refused to emigrate despite Walter's early entreaties, Jettel now realizes what her fate might have been had her husband not had the foresight to seek an alternative solution. It is then that reality finally sets in. Consequently, when the war is over, she initially refuses to have anything to do with a post-war Germany, while her husband hankers to return so as to be a part of its re-building. What ultimately happens, however, will be the true test of their love.
This is a fully character driven film, played against the largely unseen backdrop of the holocaust. Merab Ninidze is brilliant as the beleaguered Walter. Handsome, sensitive, and intelligent, he is an absolute dream in the role, bringing an astuteness and underlying strength to the role that makes him stand out from the crowd. He walks a fine line but manages to avoid being pitied for the way his wife treats him. The beautiful Juliane Kohler is excellent as the selfish Jettel, managing to interject, at the last, a certain vulnerability into what is essentially a nearly unlikable character. Sidele Onyulo is wonderful as the warm and always helpful Owour, infusing the role with an infectious charm. Lea Gurka and Karoline Eckertz are both ingratiating as the younger and older manifestations of Regina, the child through whose eyes most of the events in the film are seen.
Beautifully rendered, from its casting, to the acting, to its sensitive direction, and last, but certainly not least, its exquisite cinematography, it is a must see, engrossing film that will keep the viewer riveted to the screen. Bravo!
22 Exceptional and Memorable Work of Cinematography....
First movie that I have seen in quite awhile that left very impressionable and positive images in my mind, for many days after the initial viewing.
Lots of dedication, committment and a tolerance to another culture is clearly shown in this movie....excellant crew and list of actors and actresses!
23 A Film About The Value Of Differences - Excellent!
"Nowhere In Africa" follows a young assimilated German-Jewish family from the time they flee Nazi Germany in 1938 and emigrate to Africa until the end of WWII. This moving film is adapted from Stefanie Zweig's autobiographical novel and deals more with the struggle to begin a new life in a very foreign land than with the war going on back in Europe.
Walter Redlich, (Merab Ninidze), a lawyer living in Breslau, Germany, sensed the dark future for Jews in the Third Reich and left to find work in Kenya before 1938. He sent for his wife Jettel, (Juliane Kšhler) and young daughter Regina, (beautifully played by both Lea Kurka, as a preschooler and Karoline Eckertz, as an adolescent), as soon as he was settled as a farm manager in Rongai, Africa. Jettel was ambivalent about leaving her mother, in-laws, prosperous life and the culture and language she loved. She had been brought up to think of herself as German first, and then as Jewish. Like many others, she did not really believe that Hitler would remain in power for long. The Redlichs seemed to have had a somewhat superficial relationship; one that had never been stressed with problems or inconveniences. Her beloved father-in-law told Jettel, before she departed, that in a marriage, "usually one person loves more than the other." He asked her to keep the family together.
Jettel and Regina arrive to find a stark, dry land. Walter had been sick with malaria. His African cook, Owour, (Sidede Onyulo), cared for him and got him back on his feet in time for his family's arrival. He was not prepared for his wife's coldness or her aversion to the new country. Instead of bringing a refrigerator with her, as her husband had written and asked, Jettel used the money to buy an expensive gown. Also packed, in the limited amount of luggage she was allowed to remove from Germany, were fine china dishes and knickknacks. Young Regina, however, is thrilled to see her father. She immediately makes friends with Owour and takes to her new home as if she had been born there. Regina had always been a meek and frightened child, as a result of frequent harassment in Germany. Her fears leave her quickly in this sun-filled country where she begins to run wild with the native children and learn a new culture and language. The conflict between her parents continues to grow. Jettel does not see the big picture. Rather than be thankful that her family was one of the very few able to escape Germany, she is resentful of their shabby life and seems to loose respect for Walter now that he is no longer a lawyer. She makes it very clear that she is unhappy.
Photographer Gernot Roll captures the beauty of the land, with its sweeping savannas, the sacred Mt. Kenya overlooking the small homestead, shots of African ceremonies and dances, children playing, and wonderful close-ups of a hoard of locusts
attacking crops of corn.
The terrible stress of losing one's culture, of always being different, is what is emphasized most by director Caroline Link. As Jettel says to her daughter, "Germany is a place where differences are bad, in Africa differences are good. I learned here how valuable differences are."
The movie is somewhat flawed. I think that Regina would have made a much better main character than her mother. It is difficult to like Jettel, as the spoiled, selfish daughter/wife/mother who refuses to adapt. And there is little chemistry between husband and wife, although they make an extraordinarily attractive couple. Overall, however, "Nowhere In Africa" definitely deserves 4 stars. It won various awards in Germany and was that country's Oscar nomination in 2002.
JANA
24 Culture Shock
This very fine film about a family (man, wife and daughter) of German Jews who escape the Holocaust by emigrating to Africa, wonderfully evokes the shock of their being thrust into an alien land and culture and their various responses to and difficulties adjusting to the strangeness of it all.
Beautifully filmed, with some of the best views of that landscape since Out of Africa, these are complex people with complicated responses to their situation. The father, a lawyer, resents having to be a hired hand on English-owned Kenyan farms and ranches. His wife hates the loss of wealth, privelege and the hardships of their new circumstances. They both miss and worry about the families left behind in Germany. Meanwhile, their young daughter, with the flexibility and adaptability of a child, takes to the people and the land right away and becomes more African than European in her sensiblity.
Played with subtlety and restraint, the emotions and conflicts generated within and without the marriage are complicated and ring true. For that fact, the whole film rings true and creates its truths by accumulation of detail and the gradual revealing of character. We come to know and understand these complicated people.
Well worthwhile, this is fine work in all departments. I don't know if it's a classic, but it is at least 4-1/2 stars.
25 A beautiful film
Simply put, NOWHERE IN AFRICA is a beautiful, beguiling film that explores the essence of what is "home".
The film begins in the snows of Germany in 1938. Jettel Redlich (Juliane Kohler) and her 4-year old daughter are out for a day of sledding. Amidst the frolic, each is rudely knocked to the ground by anonymous fellow citizens. The Redlichs, you see, are Jews in Hitler's Third Reich.
Having suspected the direction that National Socialist anti-Semitism will take, Jettel's husband, Walter (Merab Ninidze), had previously given up his law practice and gone to Kenya to prepare ground for the family's emigration. He's gotten work as the range manager on a drought-plagued cattle farm. Despite the hardships, Walter writes to Jettel to come immediately with Regina and bring only the essentials and/or whatever the Nazis will allow them to carry. So, several months before Kristalnacht, mother and daughter take ship from Europe, leaving both sets of grandparents behind to their wartime fates.
Depicting a span of nine years and "told" through Regina's eyes, NOWHERE IN AFRICA examines the response of each Redlich to immersion in a vastly different physical environment and culture. Walter, the realist, embraces his new circumstances as the key to survival, even as his fortunes change multiple times over the course of the film. Jettel, arriving in Kenya a pampered, upper-middle class wife, learns the hard way. She's initially horrified by the heat, dust, dryness, monotonous diet, local customs, lack of genteel amenities, and the necessity of having to interact with native Blacks. Regina (Lea Kurka and Karoline Eckertz) copes the best of all, beginning with her immediate attachment to the family's congenial native cook, Owour, marvelously played by Sidede Onyulo. Of the three, the daughter becomes the most Africanized.
After nine years, after having endured a roller coaster of experiences and a sometimes troubled marriage, Walter and Jettel must decide whether or not to return themselves and Regina to a defeated and devastated homeland. Do they owe anything to the country that rejected them and liquidated their relatives?
Every aspect of NOWHERE IN AFRICA can be described by a superlative. It's a sedately paced love affair with Africa in all of its seductiveness. Even locusts play a part. In the very last scene, perhaps Jettel and the viewer realize that "going home again" may not be an option when the realm of the heart has shifted forever.
26 Beautifully Rendered, Organically Produced
Other reviews give you synopsis. This review is more about the effect of the film on me, and why I think I was so moved by it.
This is a love story, first, as the director and actors state in the special features. It is that. The story of a married couple who find that they have little really in common with one another, once taken out of their normal environment. It is the struggle to be oneself, yet be a couple, when all is said and done. However, it is the daughter and the Kenyan cook who create a magic that I haven't seen written in reviews. The daughter quickly adapts to the strange and different life in Kenya, as well as the English schooling. She lives in three worlds, easily. The cook is a wise man, who brings all of the characters together, as if he is the quiet sounding board for all.
The interview, in Special Features, with the gentleman who plays the cook is fascinating, as he describes the difference between working with American crews and the German crew for this film, and it helped me to understand why I reacted so deeply to the script and the actors. It was how the Germans built the film around the environment and people rather than changing it to suit their own notions.
Based on a true story, by the daughter, of her family's survival and re-invention through intense change and pain. This is not a depressing movie. This is an uplifting one.
This is a story about relationships. About diversity. About change and how people adapt. About love for human beings, as well as environment. One of the best films I've ever seen.
27 German Yes, English No.
This was an excellent film. It didn't seem to run long as some reviewed. So many events occurred in the film, I thought more time went by than actually did. This film would have received 5 stars, but Amazon has it listed as having both English and German versions on the disc. It only has German with English subtitles. Fortunately I understand German, so this did not deter from the film.
28 CAPTIVATING CHRONICLE OF ESCAPE IN VISUALLY GORGEOUS KENYA
Most World War movies veer around the gritty theme of the Holocaust and how many people perished under the heinous regime. Some movies such as "Sophie's Choice" or "Nowhere in Africa" bring out the other aspect -‰?" people who escaped one horror, but underwent prejudiced treatment or disintegration after immigration to other countries.
This film chronicles a German family that sought refuge in the idyllic arms of Kenya. Unlike the eulogistic "Pianist" it actively ventures into the wilds to struggle with the growing awareness of the Holocaust's terrible toll around the world. Locusts, sacrificial lambs, etc lend the film its uncompromisingly graphic metaphors for the exacting beauty and danger of Africa.
Apart from the breathtaking vistas of grassland Kenya, the best thing about the movie is that like a good John Irving novel, it's not made up of heroes and villains. It is an unfolding narrative of human beings who face hardships and evolve through them. This requires a feat of casting that the film manages to accomplish rather convincingly (e.g., the daughter in the family is an 8-year old for a part of the movie, then an adoloscent in the latter half.)
Quick editing cuts and a swift development of a multi-faceted story, laced with a riveting score of African music, demands the audience's attention from the first frame and holds it right until the credits.
Some anti-Semitic words of the headmaster at the daughter's boarding school, or some pithy dialog such as "We are Jews even if that doesn't mean much to you", dent the script's eloquent but believable language.
Yet, overall, "Nowhere in Africa" is a subtle tale of love and belonging couched in the times of war -- that state of humanity that continues to fascinate yet horrify us.
A highly recommended gem of film.
29 1930s Kenya is a safe haven and a place of culture clashes
This is the story of a Jewish family fleeing Nazi Germany in the 1930s. They go to Kenya, a place as foreign to them as another world. However, at least they are safe. The father, played by Merab Ninidze, was a former lawyer. Now he runs a farm in a rather desolate area. He suffers from Malaria and is nursed to health by an African cook, played by Sidede Onyulo who teaches him to speak Swahili. When the Jewish man's wife and daughter arrive, there is a lot of adjusting to do, especially for the wife, played by Juliane Kohler, who spends her last money before the trip on a ball gown. The little girl, who is about 6, is played by Lea Kurka. She's the first one to adjust and easily makes friends with the village children.
That's just the outline of the story however, which is told against the backdrop of historical events. When war is declared, the family is now considered German by the English authorities ruling Kenya and put in a rather luxurious detention for a while. The marriage is troubled, the daughter is sent to an English school. The family learns what it is to be different. And yet, they grow to love their new home. There are serious questions to decide when the war ends.
I found this film fascinating, especially in the parts where there were culture clashes. It was filmed in German, with a bit of Swahili and English. This added to its authenticity. I don't know if this was a true story or not, but it sure seemed real to me. Definitely recommended.
30 "Differences are good"
Barely escaping Nazi Germany before the borders were closed the Jewish family of Walter, Jettel, and their young daughter Regina immigrate to Kenya where Walter finds work on a cattle farm. During their stay they learn to survive the harsh African living conditions and climate, but more importantly, they learn that the differences between groups of people are beneficial for society. Both Jettel and Walter struggle to understand each other, and they find that their marital love and passion is suffering. Meanwhile, young Regina learns to assimilate herself in the Kenyan culture by befriending local tribesmen and young children. As time progresses she struggles to retain her memories of Germany. She is the most enduring character in this film. Her love towards Owour is remarkable and tender. The cinematography of the Kenyan wide-open spaces and distant mountain ranges are truly stunning and shouldn't be missed. The locust scene is especially well done. NOWHERE IN AFRICA provides a rare glimpse into the lives of Jews fleeing the German Holocaust and trying to survive in Africa, despite their apparent flaws and weaknesses. Well worth watching.
31 Heartfelt cinema
"Nowhere In Africa" deservingly won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film of 2002. Unfortunately, this is also one of the most underrated movies of 2002. This german film fills the audience with intense heartfelt emotion that one rarely experiences in film. The screenplay writer is not the only person to credit. The producer, the director, and especially the actors add their own finishes to this masterpiece. Their blood, sweat, and tears fill the whole movie screen. It desplicts the realities and the fears of german living during World War II, proving that the crew broadly researched their material. It desplicts more than the reactions of Hitler's behavior. It also represents loneliness, longing, love, and being far away from home and family.
Such movie virtues make "Nowhere In Africa" one of the best two hours of viewing of 2002. After watching this, one will feel enlightened. Few modern-day movies have such impact and such quality. This will make "Nowhere In Africa" a classic in the following years to come.
32 Mature, effective, complex drama
"Nowhere in Africa" is a complex but satisfying drama about a Jewish German family that escaped the Nazi Holocaust by moving to Kenya. It is a true story. This beautifully told and photographed movie suffers only slightly by running a bit too long.
The small family is comprised of the father, Walter Redlich [Merab Ninidze], the mother, Jettel [Juliane Kohler], and a young daughter, Regina [Lea Kurka]. They are well established, middle-class Jews who are content to call Germany home. They are not particularly orthodox in their religious belief and consider themselves `normal' German citizens. After the Nazis come to power and begin their repressive programs, Walter, a man more farsighted than most, begins to see the real dangers this regime poses. In 1938 he takes his wife and daughter to live in Kenya where he works on a vast farm that is almost literally in the middle of nowhere. Regina quickly adapts to her new home, but Jettel, unable to accept the horrible reality of what is happening back home, is miserable. Several years later, the war ends, and the Nazis are no more. Then, however, it is Jettel who has come to love Africa and Walter who yearns to return home. Essentially, this is a love story about two very different people who learn that acceptance and compromise are necessary parts of any strong relationship.
There is a dynamic subtext to this movie: A family which is considered alien by most of the population in its native Germany is thrown into an environment where the population is even more alien to them. By learning to accept - and eventually to love - the Kenyans and their exotic ways, the family becomes stronger and more universal.
"Nowhere is Africa" is a mature film for a mature audience. The movie is in German with English subtitles.
33 A Very Moving and Artfully Made Film
NOWHERE IN AFRICA certainly deserves the Academy Award for Foreign Film 2002 it won. This is an epic story about the human condition that transcends even the semibiographical time it addresses. In short, a happy and well-to-do German family (who happen to be Jewish, mostly in name only) 'escape' to Africa in 1938 just as Hitler is beginning to unfurl his blanket of the Holocaust. The father has proceeded the mother and daughter to find a place to live and a means of support. He is aided (importantly) by a native cook named Owuor (the symbol of universal mankind and spirit) in creating a home away from Germany. The basic theme of the story is how the transplanted Germans adjust to their new home, how the mother (not at all happy about giving up the good life in Germany to dwell among the natives whom she considers inferior people) attempts to inculcate her young daughter on how to stay separate from these 'dirty,untrustworthy' lower caste types. The daughter immediately relates to the gentle Owuor and falls in love with her new life. Matters drive husband and wife apart, they eventually are 'detained' (by the British who see them as Germans not unlike what the US did to the Japanese in WW II)in a camp which for all the world looks like a luxury hotel - without a sense of home. The husband joins the military and eventually the family moves back to their litlle home in the wilderness, survive locusts and famine, and through many trials find each other again. The bite to this film comes mostly from the mother's attitutde towards the Africans: it mirrors the attitude of the Nazis toward the Jews in Germany. How that bite is resolved contains some of the more sensitive movie making in a long time.
The cast is uniformly excellent: Juliane Kohler and Merab Ninidje as the parents, Sidede Onyulo as Owuor, and the two actors who share the role of Regina the daughter - Lea Kurka and Karoline Eckertz. The film is tightly and lovingly directed by Caroline Link, making the most of the vastness and beauty of Kenya. Truly a film to see and see again. In German and African languages with excellent subtitles.
34 For those who woe good cinema...
I finally had the opportunity to view this movie last weekend. It is a truly remarkable picture that embraces the humanity of people in desperate times and the struggles to cope with the sudden changes in their lives. I won't go deep into the structure of the plot and the character development. My suggestion is to watch this DVD in the biggest screen possible. Only then will you cherish the photography and the landscapes of Africa. What I took out of this picture was the fact that even though this judeo-german family has fled Nazi-run Germany, they face the fact that they are strangers in this new land. Even more interesting is what this couple has to go through to realize if they in fact know each other as husband and wife. Their statuses as Bourgeoisie where she was the family lady and he was a proliferating law practitioner in Germany are brought down to the core when these social masks are taken off. The one that has the least trouble adapting to this new land is their daughter. She sees life with the pureness of a child that finally ends up influencing both her parents. Over the course of the movie, you are provided with moments and clues into their thoughts and worries, often providing the sense of doubt between the couple, the daughter's adaptation, and the reality that no matter what they do, there is a place waiting for them post World War II. Enjoy!
35 Outrageous!
This was a great film... About a man who went to the ends of the earth to save his family... Considered stupid at first, ultimately vindicated... Triumphant...
36 Somewhere Special
The year is 1938. Walter Redlich, a Jewish lawyer, has been living in Africa for six months. He moved there from Germany, all too aware of what the rise of the Nazis meant for he and his family. In Africa, he works as a simple farmhand near Nairobi. At the start of the film, we see him writing to his wife, Jettel. He is sending the money she and their daughter, Regina, will need to board a ship and head to Africa. He tells Jettel that it doesn't matter how long it takes the boat to reach Africa, as long as it takes them. He knows that the worst is yet to come for their country.
Suffice it to say, Walter's wife and daughter make it to Africa, but to divulge anything more about "Nowhere In Africa" would be to take away from it, for much of the enjoyment derived from it is not knowing what will happen next. This is a movie that captures your interest and doesn't let go, even at the end. As the credits were rolling, I found myself wondering what would happen to the characters next. That is the sign of a great motion picture.
Concerning the characters, it is one of the film's strengths that the people in it, while not completely likable at all times, are definitely interesting and textured. There is a depth to these characters. They act in ways that are complex, sometimes unpredictable. This isn't a connect-the-dots type of movie. It is an interesting, thought-provoking picture. One of my favorite characters was Owuor. He is an African, and is only supposed to be the Redlich's cook, but he becomes much, much more. He is trustworthy, wise, and devoted to the family. Quite a touching character.
Kudos are in order for Gernot Roll, the cinematographer. Director Caroline Link has given us some spectacular views of Africa, and Roll brings out every vivid ounce of beauty that the locations have to offer. It truly seems like someplace special, even though the conditions are far below 'modern' standards. The musical score, by Niki Reiser and Jochen Schmidt-Hambrock is quite moving. It is used sparingly, but to great effect. I especially liked Owuor's theme.
There is much to praise about "Nowhere In Africa", and very little to quibble over. It is over 2 hours long, but for the most part doesn't feel padded or extended in any way. The time in Africa seems idealized somewhat, but perhaps that is because we know what is happening in the Redlich's homeland, and the fate that could have befallen them there. As Walter says at one point, "We're alive." And really, that is the most important thing. There is also a message included about tolerance. The Redlichs experience intolerance toward them in Germany because they were Jewish, and yet Jettel shows disdain for the Africans when she first arrives on their continent. Walter is quick to point out her failings in that area.
The people and events in "Nowhere In Africa" have lingered with me since I saw it a week ago. I keep thinking back to the lives explored, the issues raised, and the beauty of the continent on which it was set. The story moves along at just the right pace, and is never for a minute uninteresting. It is truly one of the best films I have ever seen.
37 A Little Hollow
It is beautifully filmed -- beautiful country, landscape, people, music, etc. -- especially the scene with the locusts was remarkable. The most compelling performance by far was Regina as a little girl. She was truly incredible. However, overall, I think that there was something sort of hollow about the film.
I found it very difficult to relate to Walter and Jettel; They both seemed rather fickle and I had difficulty understanding their motivations. It seemed that Jettel would not have been happy anywhere and that she was rather selfish. She never wanted to be where she was -- unless, of course, Walter wanted to be somewhere else. She wasn't happy in her marriage and as much as Walter loved her he never would be able to love her enough. She had affairs and flirted with other men and then justified her actions by pretending that she did it to help her family. In truth, she needed reassurance that she was desirable and important. It seemed that she very grudgingly stayed with Walter out of an obligation that she was very reluctant to fulfill. I did not think that she had matured as much as the film maker wanted us to believe. If not for her pregnancy, she probably would not have returned to Germany. It was interesting that she let Walter make the decision for her -- I don't think she thought he'd make the decision that he made. She asked him if he loved her and then figured that if he did, he'd let her have what she wanted.
The fact that their baby was conceived while Walter was grieving for his father was interesting, also that it was a boy and that they named him after Walter's father. At the beginning of the film, Walter's father -- perhaps knowing that Jettel was not in love with Walter -- advised her to stick with him no matter what. It was almost like Walter's father had returned from his grave to ensure that Jettel would have to stay with him.
The cook was an interesting character but I would have liked to see more of him. We didn't get much of his inner thoughts or his personal life. Notwithstanding Regina's love for him, he was still marginalized throughout the movie. I don't think that Jettel or Walter ever truly accepted him as an equal. I worried that he was presented is a simple sort of way that black wise men are often seen in the movies. Always a servant, never a friend. Perhaps even an Uncle Tom. I agree that the cinematography was spectacular and that the scene when Regina first meets him is breathtaking. It was as though all of her fears and inhibitions escaped her the moment they met. I was expecting her to develop a teenaged romantic interest in her African friend (the tribal boy) but I think that would have been too controversial for a German audience.
I have met people like Jettel and I agree that her flaws make her interesting. If she were a subservient doting wife, I wouldn't have thought much of her. I think that the message of celebrating differences is valuable but I think that it was handled in a less superficial manner (i.e., if the family had invited the cook to their Sabbat dinner or if Regina had a relationship with her friend the issue would have been confronted head on). I was not convinced that any character except Regina truly understood those the Africans -- and even she did not like the English. And, as pointed out numerous times, the English don't like the Germans or Scots, Germans don't like the Jews, etc.
Walter and Jettel in particular were very absorbed in their inner dialogues and insulated from their surrounding culture. Toward the end when the cook returns the barrister's robe to Walter, he says that Walter is returning to his old role. It seemed to me that Walter was trying very hard to return to life he had before the war and that he will be surprised to find that it is not easy. Does he really expect to just forget his life in Africa? How will Regina adapt to returning to a life she doesn't even remember?
The scene in which I think that the message about celebrating differences was conveyed best was the scene when they were united in fighting off the locusts. If only people of different cultures had united in fighting off the Nazis, then they would not have been able to destroy everything they landed upon.
38 Nowhere in Africa - a must see movie!
An excellent and moving film which depicts with clarity, humanity and insight the struggle of a German-Jewish family, fleeing Nazi oppression in 1937, to adapt and survive in the deep isolation of inner Africa. The changes in each member of the family are beautifully illustrated over time. The characters are well developed. The complete assimilation of the family's daughter into the tribal life through the love and guidance of the native cook is lovingly followed. Magnificent photos of African landscapes!
39 Terrific film.
NOWHERE IN AFRICA shed light, for me, on a chapter of the Holocaust of which I was unaware. At the beginning of the Nazis' oppression of the Jews, some German Jewish families migrated to Kenya, abandoning their lives, jobs and livelihoods to live off the land - despite their lack of knowledge about the land or any farming skills.
Narrated by a young girl, the film stars the beautiful, talented Juliane Kohler as the girl's mother, Jettel. Her character's transformation from spoiled young society wife in Germany into a resourceful, passionate and mature woman willing to protect her husband and family through any means is amazing. With Jettel's story firmly at the heart of the film, the beauty of the cinematography and other stories of this family's struggle prove compelling.
I highly recommend this.
40 Nowhere in Africa
Nowhere in Africa won best foreign picture 2002 which it deserved. This is as close to a perfect movie as I've ever seen. I'm hoping that word of mouth will spread and that more people will get to enjoy this film on the big screen where it must be seen to enjoy the breath-taking scenery of Africa. The story is compelling and as the viewer you will be immediately drawn. A young lawyer in prewar Nazi Germany sees the writing on the wall and gets himself out of Germany into Kenya. He arranges for his wife and five year old daughter to join him but gives his wife strict instructions to tell no one of the plan. He also instructs his wife to leave home the good dishes and instead bring a refrigerator which they will desperately need. She ignores his instructions, brings the good dishes and to add insult to injury brings an evening gown which she will not have any use. The little girl takes to Africa immediately and adjusts as only children can in an absolutely alien environment. She befriends and is in-turn befriended by the village children. The wife does not adjust so easily making life a misery for her husband. We are also struck at how insensitive she is with the cook who is their righthand man, looking out for them at every turn. She treats him like a servant and that's putting it kindly, when this hurts him deeply as he sees himself as a professional. There are problems in the marriage and stuggles which move the story along. Not until word from home reaches them about the full magnitude of the war and what is becoming of their friends and family does the wife begin to understand how very lucky she is. At every point we are drawn to the story and the characters and want to know what will happen next. The acting is seamless. The little girl is played by two actresses, one when she is little and one when she is more grown and these two girls couldn't be more perfect in their roles. This movie is beautifully cast and beautifully acted. There isn't a false note in it. Viewers will also enjoy the amazing soundtrack. One more thing, even though this movie is in English subtitles, you will hardly be aware that you are reading. At a certain point you will almost feel as if you understand German. This movie should not be missed by anyone who loves film and has a love for interesting story lines. In a word: Incredible.
Brenda Pizzo
Boston
41 A HUGE SURPRISE
I went to see "Nowhere in Africa" somewhat reluctantly. It was a German film and I have not seen too many good German movies lately. My experience in that area was not very good. But this time I was up for a huge surprise. It was a beautifully crafted film with everything in place. This film was very well balanced with good story, the nature scenes, excellent acting of all actors, the director, the cinematagraphy, and the mosic. I was drawn into the film within the first few minutes and its strong hold lasted for two and a half hours. Yes, it is a long one but you don't really notice that time but you notice enjoyment.
The twists and turns in the story make you think and you think hard all the way home from the theater. You think and you want to discuss it, to share your thoughts. And I mean good thoughts, very possitive thoughts... After this movie you can really see that we don't live just by ourselves but we live all together.
42 an oasis in a desert
I went to this movie by accident (too early for another movie we intended to see so we stumbled into this one). I was so drawn in by it that I cried for 5 minutes after it ended, because I always cry with the joy of seeing something or hearing something well done (I even cry at the end of a good NPR story). I'd seen some bad rentals previous to this so as I said it was an oasis in a desert. If you think it is overly moralizing (and I don't), you will enjoy the best cinemaphotography in years and one of the best soundtracks I've heard in ages. I love movies that make me laugh and cry, and a good drama has both humor and tragedy. This has it all.
Please see it on the big screen. It won't be as good on the small screen, but it will beat 95% of other movies you'll see on your tube (or at the movie house).
43 A German Jewish family's traumatic move to Africa.
"Nirgendwo in Afrika" ("Nowhere In Africa") is the compelling story of a German Jewish couple who relocate with their little girl to Africa in the early 1930's. When the Nazis begin their rise to power, Walter Redlich sees the handwriting on the wall. Fearing that he and his family will soon be unable to escape from Germany, he gives up his law practice to manage a farm in Africa. He later sends for his wife, Jettel and his little girl, Regina, who join him in Kenya.
Jettel moves to Africa not knowing what to expect. She brings a beautiful evening gown and exquisite china, which are useless in her new home, instead of the practical refrigerator that Walter requests. Jettel cannot believe that she is doomed to live a hardscrabble life as a farmer. Walter is unsympathetic, since he believes that Jettel should be grateful to have left Europe alive. Jettel misses the family that she left behind and she longs for the comforts and familiar routines of her former life in Germany. Walter and Jettel cannot communicate with one another and their marriage begins to disintegrate.
"Nowhere in Africa" is a richly textured film. The actors, including Juliane Kohler as Jettel Redlich, Merab Ninidze as Walter, Sidede Onyulo as the family's beloved cook and right hand man, Owuor, and Karoline Eckertz as Regina, all deliver heartfelt and nuanced performances. Caroline Link's direction and screenplay are first rate. Link sensitively depicts Regina's relationship with the wise and compassionate Owuor, who becomes her mentor as well as her cherished friend. Jettel, who at first looks down on Owuor and at Africans in general, gradually realizes that there is much beauty in this wild and exotic land, and she comes to love Africa. Gernot Roll's cinematography is exquisite and the background music is evocative and moving. "Nowhere in Africa" will touch you and I guarantee that you will not easily forget the physical and spiritual journey of the Redlich family. This movie subtly demonstrates the pain of being an outsider, the importance of trying to understand people who are different from us, and the advantages of approaching life with an open mind and a caring heart.
44 Very good movie.....very bad subtitles!
I wasn't able to enjoy the movie as much as I would have if only the subtitles were adequate to support the power of the movie. As a result, I wasn't able to fully appreciate the deepness and complexity of this cultural diversified movie. Anyhow, I still would like to recommend this to everyone especially those who can understand German. Definitely an Academy Award material!
45 GREAT...Can't wait for the Sequel
This was a fantastic movie! Truly awesome panoramic takes of Kenya. On big-Screen its just looks fabulous.
Now I like the story...very intriguing without the usual hollywood superlatives of sex, violence or Gore. The setting in colonial Africa doesn't give the best context- the continent was strife with begrudged Africans fighting Imperialism so their "flight" is ironic when you consider where they end up. This is made up though with the personal relationships that transcend that socio-political period.
I'm curious to know what little Regina grows up to be. A racist colonialist or liberal enlighten Jew who falls in love with a native and lives happily thereafter. This would provide a perfect sequel.
46 OUT OF EUROPE AND INTO AFRIKA!
What a delightful movie. I was in awe of the beauty, the cinematography is a triumph of the camera. The music was a mix of African beats both dark and joyful with a mix of the classics.
All the actors were great and very natural and the mood of the film reminded me of the "Trees Of Theikla," and a little of 'Out OF Africa."
The movie centers on a family in Germany pre WW2. The husband, Walter, sees the Nazis' are not going to leave the Jews alone and he strikes out for Kenya, Africa to work on a cattle farm. He was a lawyer in Germany but his credentials were taken away from him. He sends for his wife and five year old daughter. The period of adjustment does not come quickly to the wife, Jettel, but, Regina has already taken the wide eyed acceptance of the young. She makes fast friends with the Masai cook Owour and he looks out for her. And teaches Regina the native languages.
Soon war breaks out in Europe and the Brits round up all the German immigrants and bring them in to their compounds. Which for the women and children is like staying at the Grand Hotel.
Walter has been fired from his job on the cattle ranch as the owner does not want a German working for him. Jettle, has a contact and is able to get Walter another job on a farm this time. Jettle is coming around to wanting to stay in Africa. But, Walter is growing impatient and wants to do something for the war effort. He joins the British army. There is much tension between Walter and Jettle, she stays on the farm and he lives in the compound and visits. The war ends and Walter wants to go back to Germany. I won't go into the particulars of the last scenes, but I will say that this movie is worth seeing.
Not playing at your average theater, even though it won awards. Caroline Link breathed life into this story based on a true story, "Out of Europe, Into Africa."
ciao yaaah69 I give this flick 41/2 OF 5
47 Hmmmph!
Another timultuous love story concerning white people playing out against the harsh backdrop of the perrilously breathtaking Kenyan landscape. Sensitively handled, but doesn't really have that post-colonial edge which would have made it outstanding. The 'Africans' in this story are presented as little more than caricatured plot machinations, dragging the film toward its conclusion.
48 Powerful and moving story of self-discovery.
Nothing in the previews prepared me for the power of this film. The story is relatively straightforward - a Jewish family moves to Africa to avoid the coming war. What isn't straigtforward is the complexity of the characters and their growth in spirit as they adapt to the changes in their lives.
The husband/father is compasionate and caring, not just to his family but to the Africans and others who help him. The wife/mother begins as a very spoiled, elitist who is forced to re-evaluate herself, her relationship with her husband, the people and country of Africa. The daughter grows in both body and spirit, adjusting almost too well to the new situation. Of the 3, she is the most grounded in reality and is wise beyond her years.
The focus of the film is not the war itself but it's impact on this family. There are moments of joy, more of tears and many of deepness but this is not a depressing film. Just the opposite. I left with more respect for what these people did and how they adjusted to the changes in their lives, as well as a greater appreciation for the fact that I have never had to face some of the issues that the characters do.
This is not a war movie, nor a movie about Judaism. It is a glimpse into the lives of people forced to make drastic changes in their lives and how they learn about each other and themselves.
This is definitely "Best Picture" material!
49 Even Better the Day After
Last night leaving the theater I had Nowhere in Africa, the deserving winner of Best Foreign Film in this year's Oscars, at four stars. This drizzly Washington morning it is now at five for it sits on our minds over breakfast coffee as richly as when we had just walked out of the theater.
A young Jewish lawyer in Germany as the Nazis consolidate their evil escapes to Kenya. As he lies recovering from malaria, nursed back to health by his African cook, his wife receives the delayed letter telling her that the Jewish society of Kenya has agreed to pay their passage to reunite the family. Parents and sisters are left behind to a certain fate; life on an African farm proves hardscrabble at best; the daughter, scarcely five on arrival and the voice-over narrator looking back on the years, finds a true home. The couple struggle in their marriage as much as in their efforts to survive. That they do eventually dwell successfully on the land is, naturally, almost entirely due to the friendship and loyal labor of the rural Africans they employ. The war ends; the Nazis are put in the dock; with each individual much changed from when he or she first arrived, does the family stay or return to post-war Germany? All this happens under the towering African skies and in the vast bush beauty of rural Kenya.
Nowhere in Africa runs well over two hours. It might have benefitted from losing ten minutes of its running time. Beyond that, there is nothing here to dispute -- acting is sensitive and nuanced, character development and change is thoroughly convincing, secondary characters add much to the main narrative; there are even fine bits of humor -- the cook is a cook, period, but what fun for the villagers when he does one bit of woman's work at the water hole.
Nowhere in Africa, tragic in its long-distance depiction of the Holocaust, is also never less than a love story of people and place and memory. It is superb.
50 Could have been wonderful.......
Nowhere in Africa tells a unique story about the Jewish Holocaust. What makes if different from other films of that genre is that the family flees to Africa and discovers new cultures and traditions, which would make for fascinating storytelling. Unfortunately, not much goes on in this film, and it quickly becomes repetitive, tedious, and boring.
Abandoning their once-comfortable existence in Germany, Walter Redlich, his wife Jettel (Juliane Kohler) and their five-year-old daughter Regina each deal with the harsh realities of their new life in different ways. Attorney Walter is resigned to working the farm as a caretaker; pampered Jettel resists adjustment at every turn; while the shy yet curious Regina immediately embraces the country-learning the local language and customs, and finding a friend in Owuor, the farm's cook. As the war rages on the other side of the world, the trio's relationships to their strange environment become increasingly complicated as Jettel grows more self-assured and Walter more haunted by the life they left behind. As they eventually learn to cherish their life in Africa, they also endeavor to find a way back to each other.
That the movie focuses mainly on the characters rather than the war gives this story its strength. Kurka and Eckertz both give skillful performances as Regina in her respective stages of adolescence. The character comes off as being not only blissfully innocent but fiercely intelligent. When the Pokot children teach her how to warm her feet in cow dung, or when she gathers everyone around for a story about angels, you can't help but wonder whether the tribe still talks about Stefanie Zweig so many years later. Likewise, when she debates with her tribal boyfriend about whether she should remove her blouse in order to more freely climb a tree (the way any Pokot teenager might do), we're presented with a clever example of culture clash.
Unfortunately, a handful of problems with the directing and editing keep Nowhere in Africa from reaching its full potential. By far, the most serious issue is the way that Link positions Jettel as the main character, rather than Regina. The former is almost wholly unlovable and therefore audience members are likely to have little sympathy for her woes. From the start, she jeopardizes her family's welfare by pointedly deciding not to bring a refrigerator to Kenya, as her husband has requested. We soon learn that she has instead packed their shipping crates with fine china and spent the money on a fancy dress that she's never worn. Perhaps this would be forgivable if there were additional scenes to help us understand her torment; but as it is, Jettel seems more spoiled than anything else.
The second major problem-which also centers on Jettel-is that Link wants badly to create a love story out of Jettel and Walter's unstable relationship. While we're supposed to believe that the harshness of life in the Kenyan desert pulls the two apart (and then brings them back together again), it's difficult to see how they were ever really in love to begin with. In one of the first scenes, when Jettel's father-in-law says to her, "One of you always loves the most," it's clear that the relationship is already out of balance. And sure enough, we see Jettel flirt with a neighborly expatriate and then shamelessly start up an affair with a handsome-but-manipulative British officer. Because this infidelity comes so easily to Jettel, one presumes that the cracks in her marriage are her own fault-not the desert's.
With the wonderful Talk to Her, it's a shame this won Best Foreign Film. While it had so much going for it, I quickly lost interest, and became bored. And at almost 2 and a half hours, it was WAY too long. A good film is supposed to linger in your mind for days. This one was forgotten in minutes....
51 "Nowhere in Africa" best of Dark Continent adventure genre
While "Out of Africa" acquainted movie-goers with the wild territory of Kenya while spinning a yarn of romance, adventure and failure, the new film "Nowhere in Africa," which gives us English subtitles for the German content, breaks out with a story of compassion, passion and the perils of human relationships set against that country's splendor and ancient customs. The set-up in the first act, examining one Jewish-German successful lawyer's foresight in his family's future in Germany in 1938, convey's the fright of living in a Nazi regime. But when the picture goes to Africa, it's hard to remember where this man, woman and child originated; they are totally without direction or purpose other than to stay alive. As their worse fears play out in the homeland, the story delves into the trio's interpersonal relationships and raw emotion. Without giving away the strongest elements of the film, I was mesmerized by the performances of everyone, and most impressed with the depth of emotion displayed by their daughter who grows into womanhood in the veldt and the help of a Neirobi boarding school. The angst of the Jews during this time in history is never far from the forefront of the film, while the couple, spent physically and emotionally beyond imagination on very foreign soil, undergoes a series of transitions that grasp your attention. It is a beautiful presentation, well deserving of its Academy Award this year for Best Foreign Film. It will leave you with a newfound discovery of the push and pull of lovers in a transitional world where nothing -- even the evening meal -- can't be taken for granted.
52 An extraordinary "sleeper"
"Nowhere in Africa" succeeds on a number of levels: the story of an immigrant family adapting to a new home, a respectful and non-judgemental portrayal of traditional African rural life, a young woman's coming of age story, a love story involving a married couple and the Holocaust, viewed by people who escaped Germany but left family behind. Exceptional in each of these areas, and well-acted, this is a story well worth telling about our differences and our common ground, and told very very well. One of the best films I've seen in the last ten years. Don't miss it.
53 Most touching and intellgent
Great cinema. German movie of uncommon intelligence. Wonderful script -- engaging and coherent. Acting is natural and effervescent. Cinema photography is beautiful. Must see!
