The Journey to Kafiristan (2001)
"Die Reise nach Kafiristan" (original title)

In 1939, the author Annemarie Schwarzenbach and the ethnologist Ella Maillart travel together by car to Kabul, but each is in pursuit of her own project. Annemarie Schwarzenbach, who was ... See full summary »

Directors:

Donatello Dubini, Fosco Dubini

Writers:

Donatello Dubini, Fosco Dubini,

Stars:

Jeanette Hain, Nina Petri, Monika Arnó

Cast

Credited cast:
Jeanette Hain	...	Annemarie Schwarzenbach
Nina Petri	...	Ella Maillart
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Monika Arnó	...	Dame auf dem Schiff
Vassilios Avgouteas	...	Barkeeper
Jochen Baumert	...	Deutscher 1
Senta Bonneval	...	Dame 2
Christine Buck	...	Dame 3
Matthew Burton	...	Joseph Hackin
André Dahms	...	Barkeeper
Christoph Frass	...	Diener
Len Haddad	...	Frau an der Reeling
Carlheinz Heitmann	...	Deutscher Botschafter
Rania Kurdi	...	Ria Hackin
Thomas Morris	...	Deutscher 2
Madeen Mustafa	...	Zahlmeister

Storyline

In 1939, the author Annemarie Schwarzenbach and the ethnologist Ella Maillart travel together by car to Kabul, but each is in pursuit of her own project. Annemarie Schwarzenbach, who was among Erika and Klaus Mann's circle of friends in the 30s, is searching for a place of refuge in the Near East to discover her own self. Ella Maillart justifies her restlessness, her need for movement and travel, with a scientific pretext: she would like to explore the mysterious Kafiristan Valley and make a name for herself with publications on the archaic life of the nomads living there. Both women are on the run, but political developments and their own biographies catch up with them again and again. Their mutual journey through the outside world, which runs from Geneva via the Balkans and Turkey to Persia, is compounded by the inner world of emotions with a tender love story.

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Plot Keywords:

journey | literature | female nudity | lesbian | afghanistan

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [de]

Country:

Germany Switzerland Netherlands

Language:

German

Release Date:

7 November 2002 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

The Journey to Kafiristan

Filming Locations:

Bukhara, Uzbekistan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dubini Filmproduktion, Tre Valli Filmproduktion, Artcam Nederland

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min 106 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Kinomagazin: In der Wüste - Dreharbeiten zu 'Die Reise nach Kafiristan' (2000)

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Soundtracks

"Pregao"
Written by Francisco Ribeiro
Performed by Madredeus

User Reviews

fails to make impression

All I can say is, before watching the movie I did not have a hint indication who Annemarie Schwarzenbach was or what was her life story..and I have to confess that the movie was hardly a help to reach these data.. and even it was not successful to persuade me to do some research by typing few words on google website; however, all I can say is that the actress Jeanette Hain was great with her mute facial expression she really played well and showed a deep depression mental status, as it is in real.

After all , based on the script the movie has happened in turkey and Tehran as well as Afghanistan.. but believe me I am familiar with the area , it was all about an Arabic desert in morocco.. Turkish people and persian people are completely different in face and culture as well as in language which is not arabic..

I suppose for making a film like this- documentary type- a thorough research about all these minor elements is mandatory..