Family films can be simplistic or condescending, but the joy of Carroll Ballard's work is that it's neither.
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01/06/06
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Duma (2005)
93
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Reviews Counted:59
Fresh:55
Rotten:4
Average Rating:7.5/10
Consensus: This is an old-fashioned, richly textured family film that will appeal to children and adults alike.
Theatrical Release:Sep 30, 2005 Limited
Box Office: $810,666
Synopsis: Set in the exotic country of South Africa, Duma tells the powerful adventure tale of an unbreakable bond of friendship between a cheetah named Duma and an intrepid young boy named Xan (Alexander... [More]
Starring: Hope Davis, Alex Michaeletos, Campbell Scott, Eamonn Walker
Director: Carroll Ballard
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Reviews for Duma
Grabs for the gut by stoking primal understandings about our loving but tragically distant relationship with the wild.
01/06/06
[Director] Ballard's dime-store philosophizing gets schmaltzy, but the emotions seem heartfelt. And as he has done in earlier movies, he incorporates some spectacular backdrops.
01/05/06
Despite the outstanding cast of humans, Duma is the star, and Ballard obviously places a high value on exploring the real behavior of a cheetah, who is cute at times and potentially scary at others.
01/05/06
Ballard gets laughs where he's supposed to, and thrills in all the right places.
12/09/05
The awww factor of these sequences is huge -- and undeniable.
12/08/05
[Not The Black Stallion], but at least as worthy as any other feature released in the last month.
11/23/05
A visually stunning and quietly moving film of rare beauty.
10/22/05
Duma offers a compelling look at a world filled with beauty and wonder, one that children as well as their parents deserve to see.
10/17/05
Moving and marvelously entertaining.
10/17/05
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10/07/05
Unlike many lesser movies aimed at families, this has heart, humor, thrilling adventure and stunning visuals.
10/05/05
one of the better family films to come out in recent memory
10/03/05
I can't say enough about that magisterial cheetah.
10/01/05
Top CriticBallard may give us some lovely pictures here and startlingly alive images of Africa's wildlife. But the movie itself is stuffed.
09/30/05
Top CriticA pleasing fable reminiscent of G-rated nature movies of the '60s and '70s, before kiddie cinema required CGI or hip cultural references.
09/30/05
Top Critic[Ballard's] pitch-perfect adventure will engage your imagination, no matter your age.
09/30/05
This soulful, piercingly beautiful story about a boy and his cheetah marks the welcome return to the screen of the director Carroll Ballard.
09/30/05
Carroll Ballard still works in his ravishing, nearly pointillistic style of organic visual splendor.
09/30/05
Top CriticSimultaneously innocent and sophisticated, this honestly emotional fable shows why every Ballard film -- and his last was released almost a decade ago -- is a special event.
09/29/05
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