Directed by:
Caroline LinkScreenplay:
Caroline LinkCinematography:
Gernot RollComposer:
Niki ReiserCast:
Juliane Köhler, Merab Ninidze, Matthias Habich, Sidede Onyulo, Lea Kurka, Karoline Eckertz, Hildegard Schmahl, Regine Zimmermann, Gabrielle Odinis (more)Plots(1)
The Jewish family Redlich emigrates to Kenya in 1938, where Walter Redlich (Merab Ninidze), a lawyer, works on a farm as a caretaker. While his wife Jettel (Juliane Köhler), a daughter from a bourgeois home, finds it difficult to adjust to their new life, their shy daughter Regina (Lea Kurka/Karoline Eckertz) blossoms. She learns the local language and customs and finds a good friend in the cook Owuor (Sidede Onyulo). The loss of their home and relatives, as well as their inability to talk about this, endangers the marriage of Jettel and Walter. Only slowly do they find their way back to each other. When the war is finally over, Walter is offered a position as a judge in Frankfurt. But after all those years where they learned to cherish their life in Kenya, it is doubtful whether Jettel and Regina will accompany him back to Germany. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (3)
A solid picture with an interesting screenplay, but needlessly long. All of the actors are totally convincing. Nobody particularly stands out, which is a good thing. The technical aspects, i.e. camerawork and music, are almost flawless. But there is one cardinal error here: it left me completely cold, despite what happens and what it is about. With the honorable exception of the storyline concerning the relationship between Regina and the native Owuor. It is also a shame that the director didn’t include more scenes in the same vein as the final scene with the banana.
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One of the few cases when I'm really glad that I haven't read the book. Those who didn't have such luck protested that this or that is different and that something is missing, so I would be far from a surprising enjoyment. This way, I got a human story with painfully life-like characters (real events scream very loudly) and a beautiful, lingering ending.
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Slowly flowing poetic film, where the shots of exotic landscapes and nature itself play an important role. The intimate acting of the participants, without great ostentation, shows the story of a Jewish family that, while escaping from genocide, must struggle with a foreign culture, loneliness, poverty, and ultimately come to terms with long-term separation. A chamber, strong affair. Overall impression 80%.
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