Nowhere In Africa

Somewhere Century Suncoast 16 Theatres, as one of the two ‘art film venues here in Las Vegas, is where you can see Nowhere In Africa, Somehow, make the time…you mustn’t miss this one on the big screen, as the cinematography is spectacular. This film surprises you, in that you are oddly comfortable, given the 1930’s circumstances of the Redlich family—fleeing Germany, encountering further discrimination in their chosen new homeland, Kenya, and the disheartening struggle to eek out a living as farmers in a fairly unrelentingly exotic wilderness. Superlative performances allow many poignant moments and depth to the meager European portion of the community in this marginal farming district. The film succeeds spectacularly in its quiet simplicity and ruralistic pacing.

Metaphysical Overview
People suffer terribly in extreme cultural situations, and yet, most seem to overcome nearly unimaginable circumstances to survive…couples and families that manage to keep their cohesion in the emotional turbulence of homeland disruption, prejudice and refugee status undeniably inspire admiration.

Seabiscuit 1936 to 1940…

The glory years of one of America’s greatest athletes, Seabiscuit, a horse that was a dramatic, if unlikely hero to a nation beginning to recover from the devastating, dust-bowl doldrums created by the economic crash of 1929. What a movie! What a great story! Amazing that it is mostly true. Artistic license aside, this window on a time gone by is completely satisfying as a cinema exercise. The horses depicting Seabiscuit were wonderful, allowing the full development of a horse character in a movie about a horse! The racing scenes are exhilarating and, at times, so intense you will be as relieved as everyone else must have been at every race he was in back in the ‘day. Tobey Maguire (jockey Red Pollard,) Chris Cooper (trainer Tom Smith) and Jeff Bridges (millionaire Charles Howard) re-enact the lives of one of the most unlikely sports teams ever, come to fame and glory during an era in our history indelibly stamped by the Depression. Elizabeth Banks as Marcella Howard, Howard’s second wife, is the bulwark of the Seabiscuit phenomenon. The athletic duo itself—Red Pollard’s undaunted bravado matched that of Seabiscuit’s own indomitable nature and together they raced onto the front pages of every paper in the country for so many years that their late 30’s racing audiences numbered in the thousands, equivalent to today’s Super Bowl events. Ordinary people with an ordinary horse achieve extraordinary feats; those achievements resonated with the people of their era because they amplified the moral, cultural and intellectual constructs of a nation regaining its balance as the nearly engulfing Depression resided.

Metaphysical Overview 
Everyone eventually experiences difficult, if not devastating, twists in their lives…when your community is also experiencing devastation, individual trauma is that much greater. The horse trainer, Tom Smith, an otherwise acerbic, quiet person, was credited with "You don’t throw away a whole life just ‘cause he’s banged up a little" when asked about the chances of Seabiscuit succeeding as a top racehorse. Comforting words, then and now.

Notable films also worth mentioning Northfork

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