There's been nearly no stone unturned, no image of the Holocaust or World War II Germany that hasn't been etched into celluloid. From the testimonies of "Shoah" and "Hitler's Secretary" to "Life is Beautiful," "Schindler's List" and even "Stalag 17." Clearly -- and rightfully -- we're not forgetting.
But "Nowhere in Africa," written and directed by Caroline Link and based on a novel by Stefanie Zweig, manages to find yet a different story to tell in its 140 minutes.
Walter Redlich (Merab Ninidze), a Jewish lawyer, gets out of Germany in 1938 and heads to Kenya to work on farms. Soon after, his wife Jettel (Juliane Kohler) and their 5-year-old daughter Regina (Lea Kurka) join him and Jettel is horrified by the conditions in which they are forced to live, especially after a nice middle-class life in Germany.
Their Masai cook Owuor (Sidede Onyulo) is astonishingly different. But Jettel settles down a bit as she meets Suskind (Matthias Habich) and other Germans. Regina and Owuor take to each other immediately and soon the young girl is immersed in the local cultures.
{INSERT_RELATED}While her father ekes out a living and her mother must overcome her own class and race issues, Regina immediately accepts the Africans who live all around them and it is this unfettered acceptance and affection that gives the movie its heart and its moral center. And it is Kurka, as young Regina, that steals the film, with her wide-eyed curiosity and open-minded spirit.
Later, Jettel's longing for her family turns to horror and even in distant Kenya, the Redlich family is touched by the war in numerous very personal ways. In the end, the question that gnaws at them is whether they should return to a Germany and help build a new country or remain where they are and make a new life in Kenya.
It's not an easy dilemma, although fine performances by the entire cast, a fine script and stunningly beautiful cinematography makes "Nowhere in Africa" a joy to watch.
"Nowhere in Africa" opens Fri., May 2 at Landmark's Downer Theatre.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
