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Winner of an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, among a host of other awards and nominations, Caroline Link's understated and evocative Nowhere in Africa offers an idiosyncratic perspective of the Holocaust. Adapted from the autobiographical novel by Stephanie Zweig, the film traces the life of a middle-class Jewish family as it relocates to Kenya to escape the tension building in late-1930s Germany. Walter Redlich (Merab Ninidze), an urbane attorney from Frankfurt, tries gamely to adjust to his new roles as farm overseer and "bwana" in the local social order. Conversely, his pretty, pampered wife, Jettel (Juliane Köhler), arrives in Africa toting her fine china and her eveningwear and does all she can to resist the new home that has been thrust upon her. But it is through the untainted eyes of the couple's young daughter, Regina (Regine Zimmermann), that we see the lives of these transplanted adults subtly evolve. Then, as the war rages in Europe, British colonial authorities round up the family and intern them, despite the fact that, as Jews, they are clearly foes of Nazi Germany. Countless films have dealt with the Holocaust and its aftereffects, but few feel as personal and as immediate as this touching film, which is set so far from Europe. A cast of fine actors round out the story, particularly Sidede Onyulo, who gives a big-hearted turn as Owuor, the Redlichs' avuncular cook and unofficial caretaker. David Sobel

All Movie Guide

A family on the run for their lives finds themselves in a beautiful but utterly unfamiliar world in this drama based on the autobiographical novel by Stefanie Zweig. Walter Redlich (Merab Ninidze) is a successful Jewish lawyer living in Germany during the rise of the Third Reich. Aware of the increasing dangers of remaining in Germany, Walter seeks exile on a farm in Kenya, while his socially prominent wife, Jettel (Juliane Koehler), and his young daughter, Regina (Lea Kurka), stay behind, as does his father, Max (Gerd Heinz), and Jettel's sister, Kaethe (Regine Zimmermann). In time, as the pogroms against the Jews increase in Germany, Jettel and Regina join Walter in Kenya, but the transition is not easy for Walter, who is still learning the nuts and bolts of running the farm (and discovers that Germans are not welcomed by the British settlers in Kenya), or Jettel, who is not accustomed to physical labor and resents having to help with the farming. While Regina at first finds her new surroundings alienating and unfamiliar, she soon becomes fascinated with the rugged beauty of Kenya and becomes fast friends with Owuor (Sidede Onyulo), who serves as the family's cook. In time, Germany invades Africa, and Walter finds himself in a British internment camp; Jettel and Regina also are captured, but Jettel uses her sexual allure to persuade a British officer to arrange for Walter to be put in charge of another farm, and Regina is sent to a boarding school for girls. After the war, the Redlichs must decide whether to remain in Kenya or to return to the country that would have persecuted them. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 043396017931
• Source: SONY PICTURES
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: Deutsche
• Subtitles: English
• Time: 2:22:00
• Sales Rank: 14,130

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