We all carry within us fond memories of some place from childhood -- our first house, perhaps, or a secret hideout. Our soul is nourished when we revisit these places and the images they bring to mind. Nowhere in Africa is based on an autobiographical novel by Stefanie Zweig. Germany's entry for an Academy Award, it has already won five 2002 Golden Lola (German Film) Awards including best film, best director, best cinematography, best supporting actor, and best musical score. This engaging film was written and directed by Caroline Link (Beyond Silence). It deals with the soulful connections a young girl and her mother establish with the land of Kenya.
Walter Redlich (Merab Ninidze), a Jewish lawyer, has fled Germany and settled down in Kenya where he is managing a farm. In 1938, his pampered and privileged wife, Jettel (Juliane Köhler), and their five-year old daughter, Regina (Lea Kurka), arrive in the barren region of the country. The little girl immediately establishes a close emotional bond with her father's Kenyan cook, Owour (Sidede Onyulo), who tutors her in African ways and tribal rituals such as a ceremony for rain. Jettel, on the other hand, is convinced that they will only be staying there for a short time. She has not brought the refrigerator Walter requested, choosing instead a set of precious china. Jettel treats Owour poorly and yearns for her family in Germany, especially when they receive news of the persecution of the Jews there, Regina senses that her parents are very tense and uneasy with one another. And she's right, her mother's face lights up every time Susskind (Matthias Habich), another German expatriot, visits them.
The family is separated once England declares war on Germany and rounds up all the enemy aliens; the men are taken to a camp but the women end up in a luxury hotel. Jettel savors the moment but it is short-lived when they learn that Walter has lost his job. She gets him a new post by giving a sexual favor to a German-speaking British soldier. Regina (Karoline Eckertz) enters a British school where she feels like an outsider.
Jettel finally adapts to Kenya and takes up the new challenge of managing the farm when Walter goes off to war. In one moving scene, Regina, now a teenager, takes her mother to a tribal ritual for the initiation of young men attended by community members. Owuor is proud to see that this young outsider has assimilated the African wisdom he has passed on to her.
Nowhere in Africa is a cross-cultural gem that shows how place can work its magic upon us and change our priorities and way of life. Regina opens herself completely to the new country and its people whereas her parents take quite a while to do the same. Here is an example of the child leading the way.
