Starring: Juliane Koehler, Merab Ninidze, Lea Kurka, Sidede Onyulo
Director: Caroline Link
Category: IIB
Last year's surprise Oscar-winner for best foreign film is strangely engaging. Not much seems to happen, but you find yourself swept up, thanks to excellent performances by Lea Kurka and Karoline Eckertz as the young lead Regina.
It's through her eyes, mainly, that the tale unfolds. Based on Stefanie Zweig's autobiographical novel, Nowhere In Africa tells the story of the Redlich family - Walter (Merab Ninidze), a Jewish lawyer who has moved to Kenya to escape the Nazis, his wife Jettel (Juliane Koehler ) and daughter Regina.
While the Holocaust is touched on, the film is more about a family under strain. Jettel finds the role of farmer's wife difficult and we're taken through her trials from the point of view of little Regina, who quickly adapts to their new life.