Nirgendwo in Afrika

In 1937, the non-orthodox Jewish German lawyer Walter Redlich (Merab Ninidze), aware of the growing of the Nazi movement in Germany and how it would jeopardize the Jews in his country, moves alone to Nairobi, Kenya, to administrate a farm. His only friend is the also Jewish German Süßkind (Matthias Habich) and his African cooker Owuor (Sidede Onyulo). In 1938, his spoiled wife Jettel Redlich (Juliane Köhler) and their young daughter Regina (Lea Kurka / Karoline Eckertz) arrive. Regine easily adapts to her new lifestyle, but Jettel does not adapt to her new condition of poor expatriated woman in Africa. Along the years, bursts the Second World War, and the Redlich family experiences the most different situations until 1947.

Adorable, wonderful, delightful – I do not have enough words to express and describe how beautiful this tale about the life of an expatriated family in times of war is! The running time is 141 minutes, but it could be longer so lovely the Redlich family saga is. There is drama, action, romance, sympathy, love, hate, the most different sensations and feelings are transmitted to the viewer in this stunning movie. A must-see film indicated for the whole family. Congratulations to the writer, director, cast and the whole crew who have developed such a wonderful entertainment. 'Nirgendwo in Afrika' is certainly one of the best movies I have watched in the last years. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): 'Lugar Nenhum na África' ('Nowhere in Africa')

Based on a true story, a Jewish family escapes Nazi Germany and relocates to Kenya. Traumatic at first, then the family discovers a new way of life to be not without its rewards.

Listening from a portable radio in Africa about the details of Jewish holocaust is somewhat confining but a wonderful way of providing emotional tension central to this story. Instead of being witness to visceral aspects of the war, we are left to examine the resilience of human spirit and infinite possibilities of life. Vast and captivating African sceneries are not only beautiful but also gives spiritual lift that guide the family along their journey. Caroline Link does not discover new territories with this traditionally-told melodrama but succeeds in making "Nowhere in Africa" a timeless and moving film.

Splendid German film (Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film) about a Jewish family who flees to Kenya in 1938, to escape the Nazis. Based on a true story, the plot involves the marginal nature of the Jewish characters in a radically different foreign land, and how they come to terms with the change and even come to love aspects of it. The most heartbreaking aspects of the film involve the arrival of letters from Germany, announcing the imprisonment or death of loved ones who chose to stay. The little girl says, "When a letter comes with that stamp on it, it brings tears." There is excellent acting from the European and African cast.

This film was a surprise. It presents us a family that escape the horrors they foresaw coming in Germany to an uncertain future in Africa. The film as directed by Caroline Link, based on a novel by Stephanie Zweig, presents us with a family of survivors who will cling to life by going out of their world into the great unknown and a continent away.

In Germany the Redlich family is upper middle class. The household is filled with people going about their lives in an elegant way. That is until Walter and Jettel Redlich decide to leave it all behind to start a new life in Africa, thus avoiding a certain death.

Walter and Jettel stick out like sore thumbs in the rural part of Kenya where they go. Walter has never done any kind of manual labor, or Jettel, for that matter. Little Regina, who is a sweet and curious girl, feels right at home from the beginning. Children will adapt more easily than grown ups.

The Redlichs are lucky when Owuor arrives. They employ him right away. He is kindness personified; he turns out to be indispensable for all of them. When Walter loses the first post, the family has to relocate to another farm helped by the benevolent Susskind; his attraction to Jettel is evident, but he is too decent to take advantage of the situation.

The many difficulties are overcome because Jettel turns out to be the strongest person in this family. She is played by Juliane Kohler with gusto. She makes us feel she is this woman in the midst of a harsh place fighting all kinds of obstacles in order to survive in the new country.

The setting feels like the Africa of the 30s and 40s when it was a white man's paradise. This is the Africa where genocides will occur later on, as different nations will try to gain independence and some governments will practice what made this family flee Nazi Germany in the first place.

I saw this film twice, once on Saturday and once on the following Tuesday. I never do this.

"Nowhere in Africa" is one of the most authentic films I have seen in a long time. Like a good John Irving novel, "Nowhere in Africa" is not made up of heroes and villains. It is made up of human beings who go through their difficulties and evolve. The characters grow in the course of the film. Particularly incredible are the two actors who play the daughter at age eight and then in adolescence. It is one of the most remarkable feats of casting and acting that these two become one. They are a "seamless" being who is never cute but very real.

This film is a breath of fresh air in a media that is not particularly known for its freshness.