Nowhere in Africa
A Jewish family fleeing Nazi Germany attempts to make a home on a Kenyan farm while exile reshapes their marriage, loyalties, and identity.
Overview
A family's journey of survival and adaptation unfolds against the backdrop of war and displacement.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- poignant
- compassionate
- melancholic
- quiet evening
- historical drama night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as a visually beautiful, compassionate, and character-driven historical epic, while some found its memoir-like structure shapeless.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The Redlich family’s emigration to Kenya transforms geographic displacement into an ongoing struggle over belonging, memory, and return.
Jettel and Walter’s strained relationship reflects their unequal adaptation to farm life, exile, and the loss of their former social world.
Owuor’s relationship with the Redlich family provides essential support and complicates the family’s experience of Kenya.
Kenyan farm landscapes and open spaces stand against the family’s confinement, anxiety, and memories of Nazi Germany.
Films like Nowhere in Africa, and why
The Pianist
shared themes of exile, Jewish identity, wartime displacement, and emotionally layered family relationships
The Zookeeper's Wife
shared historical drama, refugee experience, moral danger under fascism, and poignant humanism
The Emigrants
shared themes of emigration, cultural dislocation, family conflict, and sweeping period storytelling
The Year of Living Dangerously
shared intimate family drama, postwar displacement, and compassionate treatment of adaptation to a new land
Movie Details
- Director
- Caroline Link
- Release Date
- 2001-12-11
- Runtime
- 140 min
- Rating
- 7.0 / 10 (195)
Cast
- Juliane Köhler
- Merab Ninidze
- Sidede Onyulo
- Matthias Habich
- Lea Kurka
- Karoline Eckertz
- Gerd Heinz
- Hildegard Schmahl
- Maritta Horwarth
- Regine Zimmermann
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Chai Flicks, Kino Film Collection
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Nowhere in Africa about?
- A Jewish family fleeing Nazi Germany attempts to make a home on a Kenyan farm while exile reshapes their marriage, loyalties, and identity.
- What is Nowhere in Africa like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Nowhere in Africa as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Nowhere in Africa violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Nowhere in Africa as mild.
- What did critics think of Nowhere in Africa?
- Critics broadly praised the film as a visually beautiful, compassionate, and character-driven historical epic, while some found its memoir-like structure shapeless.
- Which films are like Nowhere in Africa?
- Films with a similar feel include The Pianist, The Zookeeper's Wife, The Emigrants, and The Year of Living Dangerously.
- How long is Nowhere in Africa?
- Nowhere in Africa runs 140 minutes.
- Where can I watch Nowhere in Africa?
- In United States, Nowhere in Africa streams on Chai Flicks, Kino Film Collection.
