Nowhere in Africa [Blu-ray]

Director: Caroline Link Caroline Link

Overview

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.

Product Details

Release Date:	02/27/2018
UPC:	0738329229238
Original Release:	2001
Rating:	NR
Source:	Zeitgeist Films
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound]
Language:	English
Time:	2:21:00
Sales rank:	6,514

Special Features

Cast and crew interviews; Deleted scenes; Making-of documentary; Storyboard comparison; Trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Juliane Kohler	Jettel Redlich
Merab Ninidze	Walter Redlich
Lea Kurka	Regina
Sidede Onyulo	Owuor
Matthias Habich	Susskind
Karoline Eckertz	Older Regina
Gerd Heinz	Max
Hildegard Schmahl	Ina
Maritta Horwarth	Liesel
Regine Zimmermann	Kathe
Gabrielle Odinis	Maid
Bettina Redlich	Mrs. Sadler
Julia Leidl	Inge
Mechthild Grossman	Eisa Konrad
Peter Lenaeku	Young Jogona
Silas Kerati	Older Jogona
Kanya Man	Kimani
Andrew Rashleigh	Captain Caruther,Captain Caruther
Anthony Bate	Mr. Brindley
David Michaels	Robert Green
Diane Keen	Mrs. Rubens
Andrew Sachs	Mr. Rubens
Joel Wajsberg	Hubert,Ruth
Marian Losch	Johannes
Bela Klenze	Sled Boy
Steven Price	British Officer in Norfolk
Ken Brown	Bure,Bure
M.M. Sha	Patel
Mechthild Grossmann	Elsa Konrad
Herbert Knaup	Walter Redlich
Dokdin Kanyaman	Kimani
Steve Weston	Mr. Morrison
Levit Pereira	Daji Jiwan
Rainer Bartesch	Conductor
Niki Reiser	Composer

Technical Credits

Caroline Link

Caroline Link	Director,Screenwriter
Andreas Bareiss	Executive Producer
Uwe Bunker	Casting
An Dorthe Braker	Casting
Peter Herrmann	Producer
Pitt Rotter	Special Effects
Lenny Juma	Casting
Erwin Gschwind	Special Effects
Beth Charkham	Casting
Agentur Jacqueline Rietz	Casting
Annette Prey	Sound/Sound Designer
Tschangis Chahrokh	Sound Mixer
Einar Marell	Sound/Sound Designer
Andreas Wölki	Sound/Sound Designer
Magda Habernickel	Sound/Sound Designer
Soundabout	Sound/Sound Designer
Marcel Spisak	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

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.