Product: Nowhere in Africa (2003)
Rating: 5.0
Touching Teutonic Drama
Once again, European acting proves that its subtlety is more effective than American sledgehammer histrionics could ever be. Juliane Köhler shines as a complex spoiled-princess mother character. Despite my general distaste for child actors, I couldn't help falling for the little girl in this film: she is charming and real and wise, and irresistable. How the movie manages to carry metaphors and sagacity through a cute blond girl in braids without ever tickling the gag reflex deserves praise. I am about to buy this movie after having rented it yesterday: I could endlessly watch the little "memsaab" interact with her family's Nigerian cook. There is a warmth to their relationship that tugs at heartstrings, but not at all in a patronizing manner-a unique balance of evocative emotion and respect for the audience's intelligence that I find quite lacking in American cinema. This human warmth is what drives the film, as Köhler's character descends from her high horse and the family dynamics shift. Reminiscent of _Wild Strawberries_(Bergmann) in its depiction of understated human relations.Color plays a beautiful, though not primary, role in this movie. It does not take center stage as it does in other lovely movies like _Hero_(Yimou) and _Blue_(Kieslowski), but the washed-out beiges juxtaposed with rusty oranges of Nigerian dress are striking.Historically fascinating, marvellously acted, and with interesting African drum music alongside...worth repeated viewings.