Product: Nowhere in Africa (2003)
Rating: 5.0
An emotional powerhouse
This film is a truly epic experience, the type of film that one doesn't see too much of anymore these days. Based on an autobiographical novel by Stefanie Zweig, it concerns the Redlich family, one of the lucky few families to leave Nazi Germany before it was too late. Walter, the father, saw the writing on the wall and left for Kenya in 1937, sending for his wife Jettel and daughter Regina six months later, in 1938. Normally one doesn't think of refugees from the Nazis as escaping to anyplace in Africa, particularly not Kenya, although there was actually a fairly substantial Jewish community in Nairobi by the time WWII broke out, along with other refugees, such as the Redlichs, living in more isolated and less-developed areas of the nation. Jettel is a bit of a Jewish German Princess at the beginning of the film, and has a very hard time adjusting to life in Kenya. She believes living on the farm in Rongai will be temporary, and was so unaware of the reality waiting for her that she brought her fine china and bought an evening gown instead of something more practical like a refrigerator before she left home. Her character proves to be the most interesting, the one who goes through the most development, becoming a very different person by the end of the film. Walter, in contrast, has a sea change in attitude in the opposite direction, and wants to return to Germany after the war instead of staying in Kenya, which has become like a home to his family and saved their lives. They also have to deal with their troubled marriage; they'd apparently begun having some problems before they left Germany, but their marriage is really put to the test in Kenya, particularly while Walter is away in the British Army for four years and Jettel is left to tend the farm. Young Regina is also a fascinating character; being so young, she adjusts quickly to life in Kenya, although, like her parents, doesn't ever really fully come to think of it as home. She has a number of different cultures to deal with--the German culture she left behind and the one she has a connection to via her parents, the native Kenyan culture and the Swahili language, and the British culture at the colonial school she attends. (Though most of this film shows us Kenya through the eyes of people living far away from so-called civilisation, this was still a time when most of Africa was under colonial rule, a much different Africa than it is today.) Her relationship with Owuor, the native who acts as a servant to her family, is incredibly moving and touching, one of the finest aspects of this film. Unlike her mother, she never has any hesitation about or resistance to befriending the natives. She doesn't care that their skin is dark and hers is light; they're just other children she has fun with and who like being with her, the same way that she instantly takes to Owuor, seeing him as a kind man who warmly welcomes her to Kenya. On the surface this is a historical film, but the true themes are about the nature of home, alienation, self-discovery, finding oneself, loss, and how sometimes the least likely place can become a refuge and come to feel almost like home over time. What is the meaning of the word home, does a refugee or immigrant ever really completely feel at home in a foreign land, and will these people ever really feel at home anywhere again, whether they remain in Kenya, return to Germany, or start a new life in an entirely new place? It's also a nice change of pace to see a WWII-era film set in Africa, to see how the war affected the native peoples, the dominating British colonialists, and the refugees like the Redlichs. The soundtrack is also incredibly gorgeous, as is the natural scenery.There are also a wealth of bonus features. The audio commentary is top-notch, revealing such interesting facts as how Walter's voice was actually done by the popular actor Herbert Knaup but for two undubbed scenes (one of which is conducted entirely in English), because it was felt that Merab Ninidze, the true actor, had too strong of a Georgian accent, and that Silas Kereti, who plays Regina's friend Jogona as a young adult, was initially very hesitant about performing in one of the tribal ceremonies in the film because it was being done by another tribe, and he thought that taking part would mean that he were becoming a member of this other tribe. Other extras are deleted scenes (with optional commentary); a making-of featurette; interviews with Merab Ninidze, Juliane Köhler (Jettel), Matthias Habich (Walter Süsskind, a character who immigrated to Kenya before the Redlichs), Sidide Onyulu (Owuor), and Caroline Link (the director), Peter Herrmann (the producer), and Stefanie Zweig; score selections; a storyboard comparison for the locust scene; trailers; and a photo montage with commentary.At almost two and a half hours long (and three hours long originally), this is a truly epic picture, a real emotional powerhouse. All of the characters are developed so well and acted so masterfully that one grows to feel as though one actually knows them, has gone on this powerful life-changing journey along with them. It's also not "just another WWII movie," since the setting and themes are so very different from the usual ones. Far from just another movie, this one makes the viewer think and feel instead of just being entertaining or delivering a lot of high-tech special effects. It's a shame more films in Hollywood aren't as masterfully crafted as this wonderful highly-recommended German film.