"1938. One family's story of a homeland lost and a new one found..."

Nowhere in Africa (2001): 9/10

Poster (c) Zeitgeist Films

When a movie that you want to win an Oscar but doesn’t, you don’t feel that bad. However, when a film that deserves to win an Oscar, but isn’t even nominated, that’s just wrong. Germany’s Nowhere in Africa won Best Foreign Language film, but it didn’t get nominated for the acting it deserved. I haven’t seen The Hours, and I’m sure Nicole Kidman did a great job, but how did Juliane Köhler get passed over? Adrien Brody was fine in The Pianist, but not even Oscar worthy, and yet he won over Merab Ninidze?

It’s films like this that makes being an American suck. We get movies like 2 Fast 2 Furious at the top of the box office while we have beautiful films that should be seen by all in out-of-the-way theater and the median age for people seeing it is 72. If more people would see Nowhere in Africa, then they would have a better understanding of not only history, but how it relates to today. It’s one of those WWII movies that doesn’t deal with Jews in ghettos or concentration camps but how some people survived.

Like ogres, this movie is like an onion: it has layers. On the surface it looks like an ordinary movie about survival against the Nazis, but it turns out to be about relationships and adaptation. Nowhere in Africa deals with the relationship between Walter (Ninidze) and Jettel (Köhler), a happily married couple in Germany who flee because of the Nazis. They sail down to Africa. Also, their daughter Regina (Lea Kurka and Karoline Eckertz, played by different kids in different ages) deals with her new lifestyle in Africa, and with their amicable cook Owuor (Sidede Onyulo), with whom she gets along great. Tensions arise between Walter and Jettel in many ways.

Also, Jettel has a tough time adapting to her blue-collar work in Kenya. She can’t even carry two jugs of water, and is mocked by all of the natives. On the other hand, Regina soon makes friends with all of them. It shows the different levels of maturity those two members of the same family have. The younger one can change more than the older one, and to me that’s very potent. Age doesn’t matter in everything.

Nowhere in Africa won five Lolas (German film awards), including best Picture, Director, and Cinematographer. The cinematography was beautiful; it showed the vast landscape and nothingness of Africa. It helped showed the complete change that the three main characters had to go through. As I mentioned earlier, the acting was just incredible. It’s hard to put into words. How it got overlooked, I don’t know. Roberto Benigni won for Life is Beautiful, so why can’t a foreign film win acting awards? If you’re in the mood for a good, great, amazing film, then Nowhere in Africa is your best move now.

Not Rated (sexuality, nudity, adult themes)

Review Date: June 14, 2003