Product: Nowhere in Africa (2003)
Rating: 3.0
A Little Hollow
It is beautifully filmed -- beautiful country, landscape, people, music, etc. -- especially the scene with the locusts was remarkable. The most compelling performance by far was Regina as a little girl. She was truly incredible. However, overall, I think that there was something sort of hollow about the film.I found it very difficult to relate to Walter and Jettel; They both seemed rather fickle and I had difficulty understanding their motivations. It seemed that Jettel would not have been happy anywhere and that she was rather selfish. She never wanted to be where she was -- unless, of course, Walter wanted to be somewhere else. She wasn't happy in her marriage and as much as Walter loved her he never would be able to love her enough. She had affairs and flirted with other men and then justified her actions by pretending that she did it to help her family. In truth, she needed reassurance that she was desirable and important. It seemed that she very grudgingly stayed with Walter out of an obligation that she was very reluctant to fulfill. I did not think that she had matured as much as the film maker wanted us to believe. If not for her pregnancy, she probably would not have returned to Germany. It was interesting that she let Walter make the decision for her -- I don't think she thought he'd make the decision that he made. She asked him if he loved her and then figured that if he did, he'd let her have what she wanted.The fact that their baby was conceived while Walter was grieving for his father was interesting, also that it was a boy and that they named him after Walter's father. At the beginning of the film, Walter's father -- perhaps knowing that Jettel was not in love with Walter -- advised her to stick with him no matter what. It was almost like Walter's father had returned from his grave to ensure that Jettel would have to stay with him.The cook was an interesting character but I would have liked to see more of him. We didn't get much of his inner thoughts or his personal life. Notwithstanding Regina's love for him, he was still marginalized throughout the movie. I don't think that Jettel or Walter ever truly accepted him as an equal. I worried that he was presented is a simple sort of way that black wise men are often seen in the movies. Always a servant, never a friend. Perhaps even an Uncle Tom. I agree that the cinematography was spectacular and that the scene when Regina first meets him is breathtaking. It was as though all of her fears and inhibitions escaped her the moment they met. I was expecting her to develop a teenaged romantic interest in her African friend (the tribal boy) but I think that would have been too controversial for a German audience.I have met people like Jettel and I agree that her flaws make her interesting. If she were a subservient doting wife, I wouldn't have thought much of her. I think that the message of celebrating differences is valuable but I think that it was handled in a less superficial manner (i.e., if the family had invited the cook to their Sabbat dinner or if Regina had a relationship with her friend the issue would have been confronted head on). I was not convinced that any character except Regina truly understood those the Africans -- and even she did not like the English. And, as pointed out numerous times, the English don't like the Germans or Scots, Germans don't like the Jews, etc.Walter and Jettel in particular were very absorbed in their inner dialogues and insulated from their surrounding culture. Toward the end when the cook returns the barrister's robe to Walter, he says that Walter is returning to his old role. It seemed to me that Walter was trying very hard to return to life he had before the war and that he will be surprised to find that it is not easy. Does he really expect to just forget his life in Africa? How will Regina adapt to returning to a life she doesn't even remember?The scene in which I think that the message about celebrating differences was conveyed best was the scene when they were united in fighting off the locusts. If only people of different cultures had united in fighting off the Nazis, then they would not have been able to destroy everything they landed upon.