Rating: 
Summary: ACADEMY AWARD WINNER 2002 BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM...
Review: 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!
Rating: 
Summary: "Differences are good"
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Deserving of the best awards...
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Truly exceptional !
Review: 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. (...) 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.
Rating:
Summary: Mature, effective, complex drama
Review: "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.
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Summary: beautiful film
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Epic, but perhaps too much so.
Review: 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. ***
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Summary: "Nowhere in Africa" -- A Place to Be
Review: 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.
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Summary: The Life of the Robe
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Moving, Touching, Endearing
Review: One of the 10 or 15 best movies I've ever seen in my life. Say no more.
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