Nowhere in Africa

What a great movie! I really don't know what to praise first: The great acting, the music or the cinematography, everything is really done more than very well! Fortunately the tribal life in rural Kenia is neither glorified as the only and true way of living, nor is it shown with the arrogance of the civilized. Like Regina the audience will soon become a friend of Owuor, the lovely cook of the family. There are enough problems shown in this movie and the Redlichs have to deal with the death of their relatives who stayed in Germany, with more than one crisis in their marriage and several other things. Other directors would have turned this movie into a terrible tear-jerker, but Caroline Link tells the story with such a warm humor, it's really great. Although this movie also shows the beauty of Africa it depicts Kenia in a realistic way. There are enough other movies about Kenia that are full of sunsets and elephants, showing Africa like a postcard - this is not one of them. And nevertheless I wanted to go there right after watching it. If you loved "Jenseits der Stille", you'll also love this movie.

There are lots of movies set in Africa. Few come anywhere close to showing the beauty as this movie does. But it is only a backdrop. The plot is captivating and the acting superb.

Having grown up in Kenya, I found the authenticity to be astounding. The use of appropriate languages was mind-blowing. There was not a word spoken that was in German for the sake of the audience -- If it would have been said in swahili, it was; English, in English.

Few movies make quite the impression on me as this one. I seldom watch movies with subtitles, so it took a bit to get used to it, but I think it was better in German than it would have been if it were dubbed.

Having just watched one of the most visually stunning and beautifully acted pieces of cinema in my long and varied life, I can only find praise for every facet of this fabulous tale. All of the pieces came together with a genuine and sincere feel for the period and the people. No fair-minded lover of the cinema can fault this production, it is simply right in every category and every magical frame. The only film so far this year to earn a 10/10 from me. Highly recommended and a tribute to ALL those involved.

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.

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.