Monday, March 15, 2010

Nowhere in Africa (DVD)

Nowhere in Africa (2001) starring Juliane Kohler, Merab Ninidze, Matthias Habich, Sidede Onyulo, Karoline Eckertz, Lea Kurka. Directed by Caroline Link. In 1938, a Jewish family -- father, mother and young daughter -- escape Germany in the nick of time, just before the Nazis begin open persecution of the Jews. The family settles in Kenya, and are obliged to start their lives over again from virtually nothing. Things do not go smoothly -- quite the contrary. It's yet another untold story from World War II, and it is told well. The film only lacks a dramatic soundtrack to give it real heft. The movie won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. One quibble: When, occasionally, a character speaks English, there are no subtitles. This has the odd effect that only when English is spoken is the movie hard to follow. Grade: A

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