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Nowhere in Africa

February 16, 2024

Not to be confused with Somewhere in Africa.

Nowhere in Africa (German: Nirgendwo in Afrika) is a 2001 German drama film that was written and directed by Caroline Link. The screenplay is based on the 1995 autobiographical novel of the same name by Stefanie Zweig. It tells the story of the life in Kenya of a German-Jewish family that emigrated there in 1938 to escape persecution in Nazi Germany. The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film as well as the 2001 German Film Award (Deutscher Filmpreis) in five categories, including Best Fiction Film.[2][3]

Nowhere in Africa
German theatrical release poster
Directed byCaroline Link
Screenplay byCaroline Link
Based onNirgendwo in Afrika
by Stefanie Zweig
Produced byPeter Herrmann
StarringJuliane Köhler
Merab Ninidze
CinematographyGernot Roll
Edited byPatricia Rommel
Music byNiki Reiser
Distributed byConstantin Film
Release date
27 December 2001 (2001-12-27)
Running time
141 minutes
CountryGermany
LanguagesGerman
English
Swahili
Budget€7 million
Box office$24,352,725[1]

Plot edit

In 1938, the Redlich family flees to Kenya from Leobschütz in Silesia, Nazi Germany, to escape the increasing persecution of the Jews. Walter, a former lawyer, finds work as a farm manager and sends for his family. His wife Jettel has trouble adjusting to life in Africa, although their daughter Regina quickly adapts to her new environment, easily learning the language of the country and showing interest in local culture. Regina soon forms a close friendship with the farm's cook, Owuor, who helped save Walter's life when he contracted malaria. The only German contact that Jettel has is through a friend of Walter's named Süsskind, an ex-German who has lived in Africa for years. Jettel asks Süsskind why he was never married, and he states that he had a habit of falling in love with married women.

When war breaks out, the British authorities round up all German citizens and intern them, including Jews, separating men from women. The Redlichs' marriage begins to deteriorate and Walter accuses Jettel of not wanting to sleep with him since he is only a farmer. Jettel sleeps with a German-speaking British soldier to secure work and a home on a farm for the family, and Regina and Walter both find out.

Walter decides to join the British Army and wants Jettel to go to Nairobi with him, but she refuses and stays to run the farm with Owuor. Regina is sent to an English boarding school, and is kept there for years, only being able to come back every so often during the harvest season. Jettel becomes fluent in Swahili and runs the farm competently, gaining an appreciation for African culture and hard work that she did not have before. During this time, Jettel and Süsskind develop a relationship; she kisses him, but he seems to decline to have a relationship (whether they slept together or not remains unclear).

Walter comes back from the war for which Jettel is overjoyed and reconciles with him. Later, he tells her that his father was beaten to death and his sister died in a concentration camp. He applies for a law position in Germany and receives word that he can immediately be placed as a judge. He states that the British Army's policy is to send all soldiers and their families back home. Jettel refuses to go with him, saying the farm needs her and that she is tired of following him around. She also refuses to believe that a country that killed their relatives could ever really be considered home. An angry Walter replies that she hated Africa at first and couldn't wait to get back to Germany, and that she is being selfish. Walter asks Regina if she wants to go with him, but Regina does not want to leave Owuor.

As Walter is preparing to leave alone, a swarm of locusts appears and threatens the harvest. Jettel sees Walter returning to fight off the locusts, and is touched at his dedication to the family. Eventually the locusts leave without serious damage to the crops and the farmers celebrate. Jettel and Walter make love and reconcile, and she tells him that she is pregnant with his child, leading him to conclude that she didn't sleep with Süsskind. Owuor decides to go on a journey, realising that the Redlichs' life is back in Germany, and he and Regina tearfully say goodbye. Jettel allows Walter to decide whether or not they should leave, and he acquires tickets back to Germany.

The final scene shows Walter, Regina, and Jettel travelling on a train on the way to leave Africa. As it stops, an African woman offers Jettel a banana. In a narration, Regina states that her brother was born healthy and was named Max, after her paternal grandfather.

Cast edit

Reception edit

The film was very well received by many international critics. Michael Wilmington of the Chicago Tribune called Nowhere in Africa "stunning".[4] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times hailed the film as being "laced with poignancy and conflict, urgency and compassion."[5] David Edelstein was less enthusiastic, writing "The movie isn't boring, but it's shapeless, more like a memoir than a novel, and threads are left dangling—as if it was meant to be four hours instead of 140 minutes."[6]

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 85% based on 99 reviews, and an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's critical consensus states that the film is "a visually lovely epic with compelling, three-dimensional characters."[7] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 72 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[8]

Accolades edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Nowhere in Africa". Box Office Mojo.
  2. ^ Holden, Stephen (March 3, 2003). "FILM REVIEW; A Shallow Snob at the Beginning, Transformed by Exile to Africa". The New York Times.
  3. ^ Ann Brussat, Frederic; Ann Brussat, Mary. "Nowhere in Africa".
  4. ^ Wilmington, Michael (September 12, 2007). "Review for 'Nowhere in Africa'". The Chicago Tribune.
  5. ^ Turan, Kenneth (March 14, 2003). "Unsentimental journey to Africa". The Los Angeles Times.
  6. ^ Edelstein, David (March 28, 2003). "Oy, Africa. Why that Jews-in-Kenya movie won an Oscar". Slate.
  7. ^ "Nowhere in Africa (Nirgendwo in Afrika) (2001)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  8. ^ "Nowhere in Africa Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  9. ^ Engel, Esteban (15 June 2002). ""Nirgendwo in Afrika" großer Sieger beim Deutschen Filmpreis". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Frankfurt. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  10. ^ "Bayerischer Filmpreis: Publikumspreis an "Nirgendwo in Afrika"". filmecho (in German). 9 January 2003. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  11. ^ "History". KVIFF. 7 June 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.

External links edit

February 16, 2024
nowhere, africa, confused, with, somewhere, africa, german, nirgendwo, afrika, 2001, german, drama, film, that, written, directed, caroline, link, screenplay, based, 1995, autobiographical, novel, same, name, stefanie, zweig, tells, story, life, kenya, german,. Not to be confused with Somewhere in Africa Nowhere in Africa German Nirgendwo in Afrika is a 2001 German drama film that was written and directed by Caroline Link The screenplay is based on the 1995 autobiographical novel of the same name by Stefanie Zweig It tells the story of the life in Kenya of a German Jewish family that emigrated there in 1938 to escape persecution in Nazi Germany The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film as well as the 2001 German Film Award Deutscher Filmpreis in five categories including Best Fiction Film 2 3 Nowhere in AfricaGerman theatrical release posterDirected byCaroline LinkScreenplay byCaroline LinkBased onNirgendwo in Afrikaby Stefanie ZweigProduced byPeter HerrmannStarringJuliane KohlerMerab NinidzeCinematographyGernot RollEdited byPatricia RommelMusic byNiki ReiserDistributed byConstantin FilmRelease date27 December 2001 2001 12 27 Running time141 minutesCountryGermanyLanguagesGerman English SwahiliBudget 7 millionBox office 24 352 725 1 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Reception 4 Accolades 5 References 6 External linksPlot editIn 1938 the Redlich family flees to Kenya from Leobschutz in Silesia Nazi Germany to escape the increasing persecution of the Jews Walter a former lawyer finds work as a farm manager and sends for his family His wife Jettel has trouble adjusting to life in Africa although their daughter Regina quickly adapts to her new environment easily learning the language of the country and showing interest in local culture Regina soon forms a close friendship with the farm s cook Owuor who helped save Walter s life when he contracted malaria The only German contact that Jettel has is through a friend of Walter s named Susskind an ex German who has lived in Africa for years Jettel asks Susskind why he was never married and he states that he had a habit of falling in love with married women When war breaks out the British authorities round up all German citizens and intern them including Jews separating men from women The Redlichs marriage begins to deteriorate and Walter accuses Jettel of not wanting to sleep with him since he is only a farmer Jettel sleeps with a German speaking British soldier to secure work and a home on a farm for the family and Regina and Walter both find out Walter decides to join the British Army and wants Jettel to go to Nairobi with him but she refuses and stays to run the farm with Owuor Regina is sent to an English boarding school and is kept there for years only being able to come back every so often during the harvest season Jettel becomes fluent in Swahili and runs the farm competently gaining an appreciation for African culture and hard work that she did not have before During this time Jettel and Susskind develop a relationship she kisses him but he seems to decline to have a relationship whether they slept together or not remains unclear Walter comes back from the war for which Jettel is overjoyed and reconciles with him Later he tells her that his father was beaten to death and his sister died in a concentration camp He applies for a law position in Germany and receives word that he can immediately be placed as a judge He states that the British Army s policy is to send all soldiers and their families back home Jettel refuses to go with him saying the farm needs her and that she is tired of following him around She also refuses to believe that a country that killed their relatives could ever really be considered home An angry Walter replies that she hated Africa at first and couldn t wait to get back to Germany and that she is being selfish Walter asks Regina if she wants to go with him but Regina does not want to leave Owuor As Walter is preparing to leave alone a swarm of locusts appears and threatens the harvest Jettel sees Walter returning to fight off the locusts and is touched at his dedication to the family Eventually the locusts leave without serious damage to the crops and the farmers celebrate Jettel and Walter make love and reconcile and she tells him that she is pregnant with his child leading him to conclude that she didn t sleep with Susskind Owuor decides to go on a journey realising that the Redlichs life is back in Germany and he and Regina tearfully say goodbye Jettel allows Walter to decide whether or not they should leave and he acquires tickets back to Germany The final scene shows Walter Regina and Jettel travelling on a train on the way to leave Africa As it stops an African woman offers Jettel a banana In a narration Regina states that her brother was born healthy and was named Max after her paternal grandfather Cast editJuliane Kohler as Jettel Redlich Merab Ninidze as Walter Redlich Sidede Onyulo as Owuor Matthias Habich as Susskind Lea Kurka as Regina younger Karoline Eckertz as Regina older Gerd Heinz as Max Andrew Sachs as Mr Rubens Diane Keen as Mrs RubensReception editThe film was very well received by many international critics Michael Wilmington of the Chicago Tribune called Nowhere in Africa stunning 4 Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times hailed the film as being laced with poignancy and conflict urgency and compassion 5 David Edelstein was less enthusiastic writing The movie isn t boring but it s shapeless more like a memoir than a novel and threads are left dangling as if it was meant to be four hours instead of 140 minutes 6 On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 85 based on 99 reviews and an average rating of 7 5 10 The website s critical consensus states that the film is a visually lovely epic with compelling three dimensional characters 7 On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 72 out of 100 based on 31 critics indicating generally favorable reviews 8 Accolades editDeutscher Filmpreis German Film Award Golden Lola 2002 9 Best Film Best Cinematography Gernot Roll Best Director Caroline Link Best Music Niki Reiser Best Supporting Actor Matthias Habich Bayerischer Filmpreis Bavarian Film Award 2002 Best Production Producer s Award Bayerischer Filmpreis Bavarian Film Award 2003 Public Award 10 37th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Special Jury Prize 11 References edit Nowhere in Africa Box Office Mojo Holden Stephen March 3 2003 FILM REVIEW A Shallow Snob at the Beginning Transformed by Exile to Africa The New York Times Ann Brussat Frederic Ann Brussat Mary Nowhere in Africa Wilmington Michael September 12 2007 Review for Nowhere in Africa The Chicago Tribune Turan Kenneth March 14 2003 Unsentimental journey to Africa The Los Angeles Times Edelstein David March 28 2003 Oy Africa Why that Jews in Kenya movie won an Oscar Slate Nowhere in Africa Nirgendwo in Afrika 2001 Rotten Tomatoes Fandango Media Retrieved March 8 2018 Nowhere in Africa Reviews Metacritic CBS Interactive Retrieved March 8 2018 Engel Esteban 15 June 2002 Nirgendwo in Afrika grosser Sieger beim Deutschen Filmpreis Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Frankfurt Retrieved 24 November 2020 Bayerischer Filmpreis Publikumspreis an Nirgendwo in Afrika filmecho in German 9 January 2003 Retrieved 24 November 2020 History KVIFF 7 June 2020 Retrieved 24 November 2020 External links editZeitgeist Films page Nowhere in Africa at IMDb nbsp Nowhere in Africa at AllMovie Nowhere in Africa at Rotten Tomatoes Nowhere in Africa A film review Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Nowhere in Africa amp oldid 1191600574, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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