kenjha
A Jewish family flees Nazi Germany for Kenya but must adapt to the foreign land as well as the changing dynamics of their relationships. This German film is beautifully photographed under the direction of Link, although her camera is at times unnecessarily frisky. The acting is solid: Kohler as the woman who resents Africa initially but comes to appreciate it, Ninidze as her conflicted husband, and Onyulo as an African cook that the family becomes attached to. Kurka and Eckertz are also effective as the couple's daughter. The film does a good job of conveying the tension in the marriage as Kohler and Ninidze each tries to cope with the hardships.
mmunier
For unknown reason, I forced myself to watch this movie on TV although I usually prefer foreign movies with subtitles partly on the account of my earing impairment. So in this kind of mood, I was in for a surprise as I found myself quite overwhelmed by this beautiful movie. It does touch so many areas of our life and social environment and their dynamics. Its foundation, on a Jewish family regrouping in Africa to escape a bleak future under the Nazis regime, reminds us of what is now slowly slipping into history but was so real to our parents or grand parents and should not really be forgotten. It seems yet not every one estimated fully the extent of the menace, how could they? Just like "September 11" It was too big and impossible to be taken seriously. But the story goes much beyond this and actually one quote demonstrate it. "Hitler did not create antisemitism" how true even if it does not alter the facts. Yes I remember of Judeophobia, fighting in primary school, when calling names we sometimes used "dirty Jew" and it was with mixed feelings we became conscious of the impact of the holocaust. The film does not need to go too far in that direction, although it's always in the background, there is plenty more to deal with. The strained relationship of this couple, the culture clash with its prejudices and the dealing with unsympathetic white land owners. But in the midst of all this there is their charming daughter played by two different actress in such a way that it's difficult to believe as they look so alike. "Her" character is so interesting as it is detached from all the negatives of this dramatic situation, instead it flourishes from it, and warms your heart in the process. I'm not sure I was really taken by the beauty of the landscape here, for me to say so would not be right as I found the place dry and rugged and feel I have seen much nicer shots of Africa. But on the flip side I felt that being so it did not distract you from the human drama. "Do it"!
Terrell-4
If Jettel Redich, a sophisticated, attractive and perhaps shallow woman with a small daughter, a loving husband and a warm, extended family, had had her way in 1938 she would not have left Germany to join her husband in East Afrika. Of course, if she hadn't she and her daughter, along with all her family, would have been killed in the German death camps three or four years later. Jettel (Julianne Kohl), her husband Walter (Merab Ninidze) and their daughter, Regina (Lea Kurka and then, older, Karoline Eckertz), are Jews. Walter, a prosperous lawyer and judge in Germany, could see what was happening. He managed to get an exit visa, went as a Jewish refuge to Kenya, and then sent for his family. Regina with help got exit visas, but only reluctantly. The other family members all believed their fellow Germans would come to their senses and the Hitler thing would pass. Nirgendwo in Afrika tells us what happened to Walter, Jettel and Regina. It's an absorbing story which, even in 141 minutes, tries to do too much. Even so, and even if nothing really seems deeply affecting and certainly not tragic, the Redich family and how they changed kept me watching. The movie is rambling but also often affecting. The best Walter could do was to hire on to run a failing cattle outpost. The land is dry and full of scrub. He writes to his wife asking her bring a number of practical things they will need. She, instead, brings an expensive ball gown. Their house is scarcely more than a large shack. Malaria is always a possibility. The native Kenyans look upon them as curiosities. Water has to be carried from a distant well. In the midst of all this we see three things. Walter knows that staying in Germany would have meant death for them. He's prepared to do what he must to make some sort of life where he is. Jettel is appalled by what she sees and faces. She longs for her family and for the life she had. There, she was married to a prosperous lawyer and judge. Here, she is married to a hired hand. Regina, about six years old, simply accepts everything. Soon she's playing with the native children and picking up their language. The family has a cook, a tall man named Owuor (Sidede Onyulo). Walter tries to deal with him respectfully. Jettel without thinking about it treats him as a servant. Regina as usual simply accepts him as a friend. To give you an idea of the tone of the movie, if Nirgendwo in Afrika were remade by Hollywood, the part of Owuor would undoubtedly be played by Morgan Freeman. In the course of the movie they make one good friend, a tough fellow Jew who left Germany in 1933. They are interred by the British as a possible threat when war comes in 1939, even though they are refugees from Nazi Germany. They eventually are released. Sexual dissatisfaction abounds. Walter finds employment on a better farm, he joins the British Army and is sent to Burma. Jettel learns how to run the farm and deal with the native workers. Regina grows into a unselfconscious child whose friends are all native children. She learns about being a Jew when she is sent to an English school in Nairobi where the anti-Semitism is more condescending than vicious. In a subtle way Caroline Link, the director, also lets us make our own discoveries regarding the treatment of Jews in Thirties Germany and the treatment of Africans by colonialists. By now we've seen Walter's and Jettel's marriage nearly break apart. We even experience locusts. We also see, gradually, how Walter for all his practicality yearns to return to Germany after the war. We see how Jettel has grown into a responsible, capable woman who has come to love where she is and hates the idea of returning. Regina, or course, simply has become a part of Africa and of the people she knows. Like the movie itself, the conclusion is not quite satisfying and not quite unhappy. The only serious reservation I have about the movie are the two instances of fairly explicit coupling involving Walter and Jettel. My objections have nothing to do with prudery, but with how sex is usually used to pander to the audience. In both scenes sexual intimacy is used to show us the longing and need for the kind of shared intimacy that includes but goes well beyond sexual need. The director chooses to show us so much skin, so many positions and so much perspiration that, in my view, the audience is simply encouraged to become voyeurs in the name of art. As with most dramas, the more explicit the sex we see, the more the story-line comes to a halt. Nirgendwo in Afrika won the 2003 Academy Award for best foreign language film. It is beautifully photographed.
toer97
This is just a great movie with some excellent acting, especially by the little girl Regina! I would say it is mainly about finding your real self and adapting to new situations - sometimes scary ones.The wife's gradual acceptance of her situation, forced to learn the Swahili language and culture is an interesting journey as her marriage is experiencing problems. The husband was a lawyer in Germany and the wife belonged to the social elite - it is now all different and they have to cope with the new situation.It is also a great story about friendship between white and black that doesn't reflect the colour of your skin. It was a bit like going down memory lane for me as a white kid growing up in Africa myself.Furthermore, it turns the tables slightly as this is also a story about white refugees in black Africa and not the other way around as we are used to.
