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Nowhere in Africa

Play trailer Poster for Nowhere in Africa R Released Mar 7, 2003 2h 18m Drama History Play Trailer Watchlist
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85% Tomatometer 101 Reviews 88% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Sensing the threat posed by Hitler, Jewish lawyer Walter Redlich (Merab Ninidze) relocates with his wife, Jettel (Juliane Köhler), and daughter, Regina (Lea Kurka), to a farm in Kenya. Regina adapts quickly, forming a bond with Owuor (Sidede Onyulo), the cook, but Jettel is unhappy. Things worsen when the family is made to move again, this time to Nairobi by order of the ruling British authorities. Dispirited, Walter decides to join the Allied army -- and Jettel finds comfort with other men.
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Nowhere in Africa

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Critics Consensus

A visually lovely epic with compelling, three-dimensional characters.

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Critics Reviews

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David Ansen Newsweek Link's movie is an absorbing tale of cultural displacement and adjustment. It's also a remarkably complex examination of a marriage. Mar 9, 2018 Full Review Empire Magazine Rated: 4/5 Dec 30, 2006 Full Review Richard Nilsen Arizona Republic Everything in the film rings true, is deeply moving, richly photographed, and wonderfully acted. Rated: 5/5 Jun 26, 2003 Full Review Diana Tuova Spotlight on Film It is definitely one of the most remarkable German-language films ever made. Rated: 4.5/5 Aug 9, 2024 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy This Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film expertly blends two popular types of movies to create one seamless motion picture experience. Rated: 3.5/4 Aug 31, 2021 Full Review John A. Nesbit Old School Reviews plods through new terrain in Holocaust related subject matter with a shotgun mentality Rated: C Apr 5, 2012 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Though this film can classify as a Holocaust film, portraying pain as a result of the Nazi regime much like the others, it is radically different since it instead captures what is felt by those who were separated from the tragedy back home, and how their upheaval affected their sense of belonging in Germany. The readjustment is very difficult for every member of the family, since the Kenyan culture not only shifted their customs but also their values. A great exploration into culture shock and universal human emotions. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Rather than survival from the Holocaust or experiencing the exotic life in Kenya, Nowhere in Africa is a humanistic tale on pluralism. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member This one is based on a diary from the daughter in a real-life version of such a story. The mother is not so selfish early on in the real life story. The drama among the family members is as important as the challenge of adapting to another culture. The main servant, Owuor, stands as the link between those two competing plots. The dialogue and acting are both very strong. Overall, it is a very compelling story. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member Beautiful and touching! Loved it <3 Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member A wonderful movie. The characters will be with you long after the end. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Nowhere in Africa (R) 2002 Academy Award Winner for Best Foreign Film (Germany) Shortly before World War II jumps into full swing, a Jewish family emigrates to Kenya to start up a farm and a hopeful new life. Considering where they are coming from and where they are heading to, the transition does prove difficult to each family member in its own way. But the father, the mother, and their young daughter each find a way to cope in their new home with the help of an honorary native godfather they meet along the way. . . The film does take an unorthodox look at survival during World War II, focusing more on the scenario of those who had to make due abandoning everything they knew and figuring it out in a place that might as well have been on another planet. . . Nowhere in Africa comes across as genuine by spinning something different with an all too familiar time-place-period used in story-telling, and painting it in front of a gorgeous African backdrop. The story will come across as a bit scattered and somewhat disheveled at times, but audiences will be attracted to the primary relationships being focused on in the mother versus the father and the daughter who is seemingly adopted by the kindly native godfather. Germany overall did a fine job putting this piece together, though the film doesn't hit the same levels of so many others that have packed such a punch in dealing with World War II and those who survived it. GRADE: B Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis Sensing the threat posed by Hitler, Jewish lawyer Walter Redlich (Merab Ninidze) relocates with his wife, Jettel (Juliane Köhler), and daughter, Regina (Lea Kurka), to a farm in Kenya. Regina adapts quickly, forming a bond with Owuor (Sidede Onyulo), the cook, but Jettel is unhappy. Things worsen when the family is made to move again, this time to Nairobi by order of the ruling British authorities. Dispirited, Walter decides to join the Allied army -- and Jettel finds comfort with other men.
Director
Caroline Link
Producer
Bernd Eichinger, Peter Herrmann, Michael Weber
Screenwriter
Caroline Link, Stefanie Zweig
Distributor
Zeitgeist Films
Production Co
Bavaria Film, Constantin Film, MTM Cineteve
Rating
R (Some Sexual Content)
Genre
Drama, History
Original Language
German
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 7, 2003, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 25, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA)
$6.2M
Runtime
2h 18m
Sound Mix
Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Surround, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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