Average Rating: 7.5/10
Reviews Counted: 60
Fresh: 56 | Rotten: 4
This is an old-fashioned, richly textured family film that will appeal to children and adults alike.
Average Rating: 7.5/10
Critic Reviews: 26
Fresh: 24 | Rotten: 2
This is an old-fashioned, richly textured family film that will appeal to children and adults alike.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 19,902
Carroll Ballard, director of The Black Stallion and Never Cry Wolf, presents another story of an unusual relationship between humans and animals in this drama. Xan (Alexander Michaletos) is a young boy who lives with his father and mother (Campbell Scott and Hope Davis) on a ranch in Kenya. One day, Xan and his folks discover a cheetah cub whose mother has died. With no one to care for the cat, Xan and his family take the cheetah under their wing, and after naming the cub "Dooms" (from "Duma,"
PG, 1 hr. 40 min.
Sep 30, 2005 Limited
May 16, 2006
$0.8M
Warner Bros. Pictures
All Critics (65) | Top Critics (26) | Fresh (56) | Rotten (4) | DVD (5)
It's a crime what happened to the wonderful African wilderness movie Duma in 2005. Beautifully directed by veteran Carroll Ballard, Duma fell flat in the United States because of bad timing and abysmal marketing.
For those wishing they still made films like The Black Stallion, today is your lucky day.
Visually panoramic, a film that revels in making the expanse of a beautiful place palpable.
Too suspenseful for the youngest children, but for anyone older than 8 or 9, it evokes nothing less than awe at the harsh beauty of the natural world.
Like its title character, Duma has been left to fend for itself by Warner Bros., which is barely releasing it. A successful showing this weekend will prove that there really is an audience for this brand of thoughtful, literate family film.
Family films can be simplistic or condescending, but the joy of Carroll Ballard's work is that it's neither.
Enchanting coming-of-age story for kids.
A handcrafted masterpiece.
It's as good as this sort of thing gets, and deserves to be seen in a proper auditorium rather than on DVD.
The film opens with some adorable cheetah cubs, so you're instantly hooked, but there's more to this than just a bunch of cute animals.
... a beautifully photographed journey that will thrill youngsters and strongly engage adults.
With ravenous alligators and lions on the prowl, Duma delivers familiar adventure, but Ballard refuses to cater to cuteness.
... leads us on a journey -- sometimes humorous, sometimes harrowing, always heartfelt -- that's well worth taking.
Director Carroll Ballard makes only one type of movie -- family adventures that feature some sort of wildlife. To his credit, however, he does them pretty well.
Director Carroll Ballard ... not only captures stellar images of nature, but feels the call of the wild in his bones.
Chances are excellent that Carroll Ballard's latest film 'Duma' isn't playing in a theater anywhere near you. That's a shame. It's one of those rare children's films that actually succeeds in delighting tots and their parents.
Exciting but never violent, deeply emotional but never saccharine, Duma is the sort of solid family film Hollywood is always being criticized for not making any more.
This hugely emotional film is perfect. It has an absolutely beautiful atmosphere and is rich with beautiful scenery, cinematography and acting talents crossed with strong, heartwarming and absolutely cherishable emotional depth. It has some of the best child acting i've ever seen in the history of my time deeply
November 2, 2011
Super Reviewer
FANTASTIC! Why don't more people love this movie? Wonderfully done, brilliant soundtrack, beautiful story, superb acting... So freakin' AMAZING! Everyone should see this cute little film.
November 9, 2006Super Reviewer
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