Nirgendwo in Afrika

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.

Here is a grand epic in the scale of "Gone With the Wind", "Lawrence of Arabia", and "Fitzcarraldo". It is the best movie I've seen this year, and more than that, it was one of the most amazing film experiences of my life.

It is Caroline Link's "Nowhere in Africa", which won the Best Foreign Film Award when, in actuality, it was far better than the Best Picture of the Year. To call it a great or brilliant or majestic film is an understatement; in fact, I'm at a loss for adjectives to describe it.

The film tells the story of a German Jewish woman and her young daughter summoned to Kenya by her husband, circa. 1938. Adolf Hitler is on the brink of declaring his "final solution" of the Jews, and it is with great luck that Jettel and young Regina escape.

In Africa, they adapt slowly to their new rural life. While Regina befriends cook Owuor, Walter and Jettel's relationship threatens to destroy itself because of the hardships the family encounters.

I will not spend too much time going into detail, for watching this masterful story unfold is a treasure in itself. This film is based on an autobiography by Stephanie Zweig, and when it is available in English, I will certainly read it.

Also, the language in this movie is truly beautiful. I saw "Nowhere in Africa" again, just days after watching it for the first time, and spent more time ignoring the subtitles and listening to the beautiful spoken German.

And then there is one scene toward the end that I simply could not believe. It involves a locust invasion, and, quite simply, it was the first time I've ever seen something on the screen and asked myself aloud (as I did the first viewing), "How did they do that?"

The performances here are first-rate, too. Julianne Kohler, who was wonderful in the ultra-weird "Aimee & Junger" is perfect; we understand this woman fully, even when she doesn't speak. Merab Ninidze has some great scenes with Walter, the father; and Sidede Onyulo is simply magical as Owuor.

But the movie belongs to the two girls who play Regina. They look amazingly similar, and they are both stellar. Lea Kurka brings much hope as the adorable young Regina, and Karoline Eckertz is subtle and remarkable as the older Regina, particularly in a heartbreaking exchange with her father at her school.

It would be a shame to miss this film. No, it would be more than a shame. It would be downright wrong and discouraging. This film, along with the wonderful "Whale Rider" are two remarkable international films that bring beauty, grace, and majesty to the screen, and are perfect for adults and older children.

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.

When it comes to films about the Nazi racism, Nowhere in Africa is in a class by itself. Unlike Schindler's List and a plethora of screenplays on the subject, all of which confine the drama to the morality of good and evil, some with didactic overtones, others with pure shock value, or both, this movie illuminates, both with a spotlight, and a microscope, the social origins of racism. Here's the problem: The very institutions that teach right from wrong, that inculcate tribal loyalty, patriotism, and social identity, that teach us to pledge allegiance and follow the golden rule, have also quietly inferred, or noisily demanded, that the `other,' the `alien amongst us' in Biblical terms, is both different, and inferior. Every culture, Herodotus observed, thinks its own system of values superior to the values of others. If this is true (and I think it is), the subtext is clear: `others' are inferior. Which leads one to ask: Is it possible to have a moral, socialized populace without racism, or, at least, ethnocentrism?

Set in Kenya during World War II, the drama devolves around the struggles of an expatriate family of German Jews. Culturally, intellectually, and socially, they are Germans, not Jews, which is both fascinating, and historically accurate. Like many other Jews of their generation, the expatriate family viewed their Jewish heritage with both skepticism, and as a sentimental indulgence. Unable to come to grips with the events in Europe, reeling from and their new social status of being nobodies in the middle of nowhere, they struggle as social nomads, stuck between their privileged position as white overlords of the native Blacks, and their fallen, uncertain status as guests without rights. We watch the internal dynamics of a Jewish expatriate family through the prism of its own internalized assumptions, both as highly cultured Germans, and increasingly as Jews. And what they discover about their own hidden assumptions, their ethnocentrism and European sense of privilege and superiority, becomes as shocking to them as Hitler's Germany.

Like every other archetypal hero, being nobody in the middle of nowhere is the crucible that produces the Hero's special character, where he or she eventually returns home, in the end, bearing gifts, wisdom, and a healing balm. In the end, they emerge with real gem of a prize: they understand, both intellectually and emotionally, the comparative advantage of other cultures and societies.

What I especially loved about this film is its emotional tone. It's an emotionally evocative film, though not with the mawkish, childish paroxysms of a Disney flick. We watch adults dealing with culturally layered adult emotions, unwrapping and examining each layer as one peels an onion. Their collective emotional journey is as rich and textured and subtly presented as any I've seen.

Based on a true story, a Jewish family escapes Nazi Germany and relocates to Kenya. Traumatic at first, then the family discovers a new way of life to be not without its rewards.

Listening from a portable radio in Africa about the details of Jewish holocaust is somewhat confining but a wonderful way of providing emotional tension central to this story. Instead of being witness to visceral aspects of the war, we are left to examine the resilience of human spirit and infinite possibilities of life. Vast and captivating African sceneries are not only beautiful but also gives spiritual lift that guide the family along their journey. Caroline Link does not discover new territories with this traditionally-told melodrama but succeeds in making "Nowhere in Africa" a timeless and moving film.