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Weisse Massai, Die (2005)

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17 comments in total

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15 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
Good film - don't get worked up on character flaws!!, 13 November 2005

Author: offenes_meer from Germany

I was curious to see this film seeing the split type of reviews it got on IMDb. It has been showing at our small town cinema for full two weeks. And, yes, there were still quite a number of viewers - mostly women. I believe the problem is that people get worked up on the main character and get to dislike her strongly, then reflecting this on the film as a whole. Which of course is not fair, but maybe understandable. So if you want to see a marvelous, well made, well photographed and even well written film with an intriguing plot - this will be it. If you want to agree with all moves of the main characters and seek harmony, happiness and want to relax - just stay away. My boys, for instance, hated 'Gegen die Wand' for the lack of happy ending and the pain the main characters live through. So does this mean that we Germans have an affinity to 'difficult' plots? (including our German-Turkish compatriots in 'Wand') Maybe. What makes the film less understandable - but very much more realistic - is that it is based on a true story. So why complain? The Carola character has her flaws and gets stuck between wanting to Europeanise the Massai life and adapting to their customs. Which in itself would render enough material for several films. The Massai accept her but are also stuck with their traditions - what else would you expect. But this film is not about how this dilemma can be solved - it is about Carola and Lemalian - and if you come to think of it, two very brave characters, no matter how they behave in detail. They exist(ed)!!! And the film gives you an opportunity to partake in their torment. Just take this as ONE possible outcome and ponder on the potential and possibilities such a setting can offer. Enjoy.

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14 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
True adventure, beautifully told, 14 September 2005

Author: (k_abha) from Canada

Excellent movie; just received a standing ovation at its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Good old-fashioned story-telling with the drama of severe to the point of seemingly unsurmountable cultural conflict wrought out by strong acting from the relatively unknown leads.

When Carola, a Swiss woman (as pale,willowy and Teutonic as they make them) vacationing with her boyfriend Stefan, is smitten at first sight with Lemalian, a Masai warrior, she decides to follow her heart.

As a viewer, one feels part of the scene, drawn into Carola's frame of mind, experiencing her alternate euphoric connection with Lemalian and the strain of coming to terms with a culture, and indeed, even a man, who, despite their love, is unlike what she is accustomed to.

(A warning for the squeamish: there are several scenes of traditional Masai customs that, while not brutal, will at least make you cringe and avert.)

The film is based on an autobiographical book that was a huge bestseller in Europe. While I haven't read the book and cannot vouch for the film's accuracy, its realistic tone is never in doubt. There are no saccharine contrivances about the culture gap or simplistic portrayals or any other false notes.

In fact between the taut performances, sweeping cinematography of the Kenyan countryside, keenly observed detail of daily life and the pitch-perfect score, The White Masai almost has an epic feel to it.

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17 out of 24 people found the following comment useful :-
Visually stunning epic drama., 14 September 2005

Author: galasius from Mississauga, Ontario

Based on the novel by Corrine Hofmann, this is the incredible true story of a woman from Switzerland who pursues and eventually marries a Masai warrior in Kenya.

The story itself is riveting, made more impressive and captivating as it is based in fact.

The film contains three languages - German, English, and Maa. But even with this mix of language, the subtitles (which were unfortunately quite poorly done) weren't even a real necessity as so much of the story is so clearly communicated without the need for language.

German director Hermine Huntgeburth expertly captured the beauty and culture of this part of the world.

This by far wasn't the 'biggest' gala presentation at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, but it left the fortunate audience captivated by the story and the visual beauty.

Definitely worth checking out.

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14 out of 21 people found the following comment useful :-
They should have named the movie "ignorant white woman", 5 October 2005

Author: kalifake from Afghanistan

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I don't understand why people gave this film such a high rating. Ah OK, I know it's all about romance. Well, i like movies about love and romance. movies which cause that warm feeling around your heart and almost make you cry. But "Die Weisse Massai" is not quite about romance in my opinion. It certainly was intended to be, but what came out is a movie about naivety and ignorance. So instead of a warm feeling around my heart i had to chuckle to myself all the time and couldn't await until the obvious happens.

--- Spoilers from here on ---

Let me introduce you to the story. A woman from Switzerland comes to Africa for holidays with her boyfriend. They meet an attractive Massai warrior who she falls in love with. After he helps them out of a dangerous situation and the both spend some time with each other she is determined to stay in Africa, follows him to his village and they merry. After the romantic start the obvious problems begin. All of them are based on the culture clash. "He" is a Massai warrior and comes from a society where women count nothing. And "she" is a modern woman who tries to fulfill herself. He realizes that her mentality is different from what he is used to in his area and even allows her to open a shop. Soon he becomes jealous because from his standpoint it looks like she is flirting with her customers (she is looking straight into their eyes and is smiling at them). He accuses her of cheating several times until she can't stand it any more and leaves him.

I am aware that some women might admire her because of her "bravery", leaving home for an adventurous life in the bush with a mysterious stranger.

For me it's just pure ignorance and naivety.

In my eyes this relationship could have even worked if her husband wasn't the only one who makes concessions. There was so much she could have done.

Take that driving scene for example where he crashes the car. Why didn't she just try to teach him driving when they were alone, so that he wasn't ashamed of others watching his wife teaching him. Yes this might have been a very difficult task because of his ego, but hey it's a challenge.

Or take the jealousy. All she had to do is not to smile at her customers. She could have even try to teach him how to run a business.

In the circumcision scene she did as if she never have heard about it before.

And what did she expect? That there is a hospital at every corner?

All those small things show how naive (err i mean "how much in love") she was when she changed her life. It makes her character look like another ordinary, ignorant white woman from the west coming to the beautiful beaches of the third world to roast herself in the sun.

This movie might become interesting from another point of view. You can see it as a metaphor for the problems between the "civilized" west and the developing east/ third world. the west always tries to change the east, but when difficulties arise, the west flees back to his sheltered world leaving the east suffering.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Very good movie even with its flaws, 3 December 2006

Author: gil_roitto from Sweden

The movie is based on the book "The white Masai", and on the true life of Corinne Hofmann, the author of the book.

She becomes attracted to a Masai man while on a trip to Kenya, and eventually moves in with him and marries him. This movie is about love, cultural differences and hard facts of life. It is very romantic but also heart stopping in the struggles for cultural understanding.

The movie does not strictly follow the story of the book, but makes a good job of squeezing the essentials into a 2 hour movie. The tensions, the hardships etc, are well caught much thanks to good acting performances.

I really miss a lot of information in the movie. E.g. how was her relation with other people in the village, especially with "Mama" in the same hut. Also there is often a lack of explaining what other people in the tribe thought of her actions. Some cultural differences are quite insufficiently covered, e.g. how her way to talk to other men contributed to the jealousy of her husband. Many of the hardships in the book are also left out in the movie.

What is truly great about the movie and the story, is that her failures are not hidden. Its not a movie about that the native life in Africa is "so hard" for a sane westerner to live. The sacrifices made from both sides are vast, from their cultural positions and values, but still they are not sufficient to bridge the gap in so many issues.

It is a really good movie. I recommend it to anyone. Ignore the other whining comments here. The movie does a good job, if not perfect, fitting the story into a 2 hour movie. The cultural differences are there to see and think about, even if some things were left out.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Is there anything that may conquer culture clash?, 16 July 2006

Author: Marcin Kukuczka from Cieszyn, Poland

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

When I heard of this movie, I must admit that I have not known much about it. First, I have not read the novel by Corinne Hofmann. Moreover, there are no famous names of cast that would draw my attention. What called my interest was Africa, the continent that has not been very popular in movies but so attractive in itself together with both its beauties as well as its difficulties. I saw some movies about this continent, including "The African Queen" (1951) by John Huston and "Nirgendwo in Afrika" (2001) by Caroline Link. Therefore, I went to see "Die Weisse Massai" expecting that I would equally like this movie. What were my feelings about it after leaving the cinema? The film surprised me as very good in some aspects and average in some other ones.

The film does a very good job in one theme – it accurately shows the culture clash that is doomed to appear in the situation it shows. A Swiss woman, Carola (Nina Hoss), goes to Kenya, accidentally meets a Massai warrior Lemalian (Jacky Ido), falls in love and begins to live with him in harsh conditions, almost unbearable for any European. At first, it seems that love will conquer all difficulties and differences but, in the long run, the situation does not occur to be as simple as that. „Everything is O.K." or „Alles in Ordnung" becomes a slogan that has nothing to do with the true situation...The first problem turns out to be sex with this man – he is deadly selfish and treats love between a man and a woman as an act of pleasure for man only. Carola teaches him how to love her...and it goes in the right direction but sex occurs to be not everything, particularly in such a relationship. Soon she says „The longer I live with him, the less I understand him and not only kisses make a problem..." So what makes the problem? Almost everything: lifestyle, traditions, social behavior, treatment of important matters in life, and, of course, male-female relations. I liked the way the movie showed this – Carola does not realize how difficult it is to live with Lemalian at first but gradually. When she sees how young girls are treated in the tribe, she feels petrified and disgusted... yet, there is nothing she can do, as the Pastor says. This is the way they have been living for hundreds of years! What right do we have to change them? When she opens the shop, it gradually brings serious problems since relatives don't understand how it should work. Why? Because she saw the business reality in a Swiss way and wanted to adopt it among the Massai – this adopting of culture by force was best presented in the shop sequence or when Carola allows Lemalian to drive. Finally, the most serious problem Carola has to cope with is when her husband accuses her of betraying him with other men. She smiles at male customers in order to be nice. Her husband sees this as flirting... SPOILER: Nevertheless, the two scenes that I very much disliked were when Lemalian accuses the Pastor for making love to his woman and when Lemalian says to Carola that some rotten remains went out of her body. These were highly out of good taste! But generally speaking, the film is an accurate presentation of the problem. People who think that male-female love will do for everything should see this movie.

There is another advantage of this movie – the true African reality. We see the cities, the landscape, the markets, the real core of African life. The movie is mostly shot in Africa, which makes it exceptionally authentic. Some scenes filmed in the beautiful landscape of Kenya are fabulous. We not only see the real African inhabitants but also hear their language. Moreover, there is a lot to be found about their customs and traditions, sometimes obscure habits but customs that have a right to be respected. This all provides a viewer with a chance to see the real Africa on screen. In this case, I must mention the moment when Carola travels by bus, a woman by her side asks her for the destination of her journey. The reaction to Carola's answer... for us such a behavior is vague but African people find this absolutely normal.

The performances are fine. Nina Hoss does a very good job as a woman who is driven to do something by her desires and gradually realizes how difficult it is to live in such a reality. She gives a very appealing performance and feels the role straightly from the beginning to the surprising end. Jacky Ido is good as Lemalian, a Massai warrior and a European woman's lover. But here, a mention must be made of many African people who behave very naturally before cameras and make the film highly authentic.

Finally, there is, however, one problem about the movie – its totally predictable content. I watched the film and almost knew what would come later. It is easy to predict the behavior of such a woman. They are all very similar in what they do, not to offend anyone, at first see sex and then open their eyes and realize difficulties. Then, they don't get used to harsh living conditions and give up this life. Yet, the consequences do not disappear automatically... Therefore, it appears that there is nothing that may conquer cultural conflict, nothing - not even true love.

All in all, in spite of some drawbacks of the film, THE WHITE MASSAI WOMAN is a nice psychological insight into culture clash. But even if you are not particularly fond of the story, I still recommend you to see the film due to the authentic Africa. Besides, the performance of Nina Hoss is exceptionally memorable. You will surely like something about the film. Worth looking for! 7/10

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
More than she bargained for, 7 April 2007
Author: Bob Taylor (bob998@sympatico.ca) from Canada

The White Masai is a very handsome production that showcases excellent cinematography by Martin Langer and some fine performances by Nina Hoss and Katja Flint as two European women trying to cope with life in Kenya. Carola knows fairly early on that she has gotten into a situation that will call on all her emotional resources if she is to survive. Nina Hoss conveys her sudden attraction to Lemalian, followed by bruising experiences with female circumcision, a woman called bewitched who gives birth at the side of the road, a crooked "mini-chief" who craftily skims money off the receipts at her store, and other trials. She seeks help from Pater Bernardo the missionary, very skillfully played by Antonio Prester.

The story is engrossing but it is true, as another commenter noted, that you're never in doubt about the next plot turn. This film should be seen by all those who enjoyed The African Queen and Out of Africa; it has the same romantic appeal as those classics.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
why?, 19 December 2007

Author: shirley-112 from Canada

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Although the film takes liberties - the book makes it clear the warrior speaks neither English or German -- the question must be asked: why does a woman fall in love with a man she doesn't even know. It couldn't have been lust because it was clear he was an appalling lover initially at least. The cultures are so far apart. This is not just Africa vs Europe but rural Africa vs urban Europe. The film in no way explains how a person, probably educated and surely emancipated, would want to spend her live in the bush with a macho man with nothing but outstanding scenery to compensate. Living in a shared hut and sharing pools of water to wash. No wildlife, just goats and cattle; seemingly nothing to read, no one with whom to communicate except the odd visit to another woman in the town and a hostile pastor. It is so far from comprehensible that I viewed the film with increasing incredulity. Yes, the scenery was wonderful but African is so much more.

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11 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
Fantastic scenery and interesting depiction of how we in the "western civilized" world impose our ways upon others, 17 September 2005

Author: bak_europe from Germany

Although I did not read the book, I saw the film tonight at the German cinema (with a mix of subtitles). Having been to SOuth Africa myself, I recognized the land and endless horizon (some was filmed in SA, as well as Kenya itself).

The film leaves you with the feeling that you are not sure why this woman wanted to even stay in Kenya with this man, despite "hardships" of no showers, no electricity, no amenities as we know. It was her loves to this man from a totally different culture, a warrior, that made her decide to live in such a God-forsaken place, so far from her former reality. This Swiss woman, who had owned a shop in Switzerland, sold her store, and then after some time, thought she could best help her new husband's people by opening a shop herself and selling wares to the people in the surrounding areas. However, she really had no feeling for what her husband was going through, losing face for having his wife work, as well as being able to drive a car (which he thought was so easy to learn until he ran the jeep against the tree). One can at times sees that she is not very sensitive to the cultural issues regarding tribal life and position, and this makes this relationship quite tense. On the other hand, one can see that the African man makes quite a bit of effort to understand her and ease her way into his world, even though he is not so aware of her upbringing and needs.

Perhaps reading the book would give more insight to their other trials and tribulations. However, I will have to say that I will now read the book, and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. It makes one think if two people from diverse cultures ever have a chance of survival. On the other hand...........what is diversity.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Fascinating tale of the love between a European girl and her Kenyan Warrior Tribesman, great I loved it, 25 August 2007

Author: malcotoro from Canada

I was not going to write since I read the reviews here, but it exceeded all my expectations, so on second thoughts I wanted to say this German film beats all the Hollywood star studded films I have seen of late. I had just casually picked it up in my local rental store, and I was intrigued to know more about Kenya, about the love of a beautiful European girl for the Masai warrior. The stars are great, totally believable. Ms Hoss has the looks of supermodel Lauren Hutton, Nina Hoss is very beautiful, stunningly attractive, the Masai male as portrayed by Jacky Ido, very handsome. The stars give brilliant performances I would say, and I was totally immersed in the story. As a result, I have just ordered the non fiction book for further research into this fascinating tale, the romance against the Kenyan landscape. I loved it, and have watched my rental copy 4 times Comment from Malcolm in Toronto 25th August 2007

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