Duma

2005

Action / Adventure / Drama / Family

4
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 95% · 60 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 80% · 10K ratings
IMDb Rating 7.1/10 10 8900 8.9K

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Plot summary

An orphaned cheetah becomes the best friend and pet of a young boy living in South Africa.

Director

Carroll Ballard Photo
Carroll Ballard

Top cast

Campbell Scott Photo
Campbell Scott as Peter
Hope Davis Photo
Hope Davis as Kristin
Eamonn Walker Photo
Eamonn Walker as Ripkuna
Michele Levin Photo
Michele Levin as Doctor's Wife
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
924.71 MB
1280*722
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 40 min
Seeds 5
1.85 GB
1916*1080
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 40 min
Seeds 10

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by EUyeshima 8 / 10

The Return of Carroll Ballard in a Magical Cheetah Adventure

I have to admit I watched this family film solely based on Roger Ebert's enthusiastic thumbs-up, and I'm glad I did. It made me immediately recall a film from my childhood, Alexander Mackendrick's 1963 "A Boy Ten Feet Tall" about a boy who travels the length of the African continent by himself after his parents are killed. The more obvious inspiration, however, is James Hill's 1966 "Born Free" about a lioness that needs to be returned to the wild. The fact that this 2005 film is directed by Carroll Ballard, who made the remarkable 1979 film, "The Black Stallion", ensures a level of craftsmanship rare in films these days. Thanks mainly to the sumptuous cinematography by Werner Maritz, this is a panoramic nature film of the highest order.The plot itself is small as befitting a family film. Based on a true story, it focuses on twelve year-old Xan, who has raised a cheetah named Duma on his family's South African farm since both were cubs. A tragedy forces Xan to take Duma out to the wild, where it belongs, without telling his mother. He makes it on a motorcycle to the middle of the Kalahari Desert where he runs out of gas and meets a suspicious wanderer named Ripkuna. Their adventures together make up the best parts of the film after a too-lengthy set-up in South Africa. There are impressive scenes highlighting the rapport between Xan and Duma, and Ballard sets up some highly creative action sequences around the motorcycle's conversion into a wind-surfing vehicle, a collapsing mine tunnel, an overwhelming tsetse fly attack and a hair-raising whitewater raft trip amid hungry crocodiles. It is the realism of these scenes that makes the film resonate more than a standard animal film.The acting is not the chief attraction here. However, Alexander Michaletos, who was apparently raised on a farm among cheetahs, plays Xan with natural élan, and Eamonn Kelly brings the requisite mystery to Ripkuna. Sporting British accents, indie favorites Campbell Scott and Hope Davis have little more than cameos as Xan's parents. The 2006 DVD is light on extras - no commentary or making-of featurette (which could have been fascinating in this case); just the trailer and a couple of extended scenes are included. Still, this is a fine film to appreciate Ballard's too-rarely-seen cinematic artistry in conveying the delicate balance between humans and animals.
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Reviewed by mendhak 8 / 10

A fresh touch of poetry

Being used to today's explosion-filled, fast-paced movies being churned out on a weekly basis for the sake of selling tickets, Duma is what I'd like to say a slap in the face for all of us who get excited over the mediocrity that has brought out "The Interpreter," "Stealth," and what else is playing now...? A movie that I would definitely recommend for an entire family to watch together, there's nothing in here that would make you want to cover your kids' eyes or ears up at anytime. Instead you'd want for them, and for yourself, to sit up and pay attention to this smooth, smart movie.

Don't wait for any explosions. There is a story being told in this movie, and its being told with a fresh touch of poetry which I haven't seen in a long time.

I gave this movie an 8/10 because of one reason: Although the movie is set in Africa, its really hard to tell until halfway through the movie. In fact, the place looked whiter than Little Rock, Arkansas! But it got an 8/10 because of the story, the storytelling, and the smooth pace at which the movie flows.

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