Duma (2005)

Director:

Carroll Ballard

Writers (WGA):

Carol Cawthra Hopcraft (book) and
Xan Hopcraft (book) ...

Release Date:

27 May 2005 (UK)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Family

Tagline:

Some friendships are wilder than others.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Desert | Bully | Adolescent | Bush Baby | Young Boy

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Alex Michaeletos	...	Xan (as Alexander Michaletos)
Campbell Scott	...	Peter
Mary Makhatho	...	Thandi
Nthabiseng Kenoshi	...	Lucille
Hope Davis	...	Kristin
Jennifer Steyn	...	Aunt Gwen
Nicky Rebello	...	Coach Nagy (as Nicky Rebelo)
Garth Renecle	...	Hock Bender
Andre Stolz	...	Xan's Teacher
Charlotte Savage	...	Poetry Student
Ronald Shange	...	Policeman
Eamonn Walker	...	Ripkuna
Nadia Kretschmer	...	Tourist #1
John Whiteley	...	Tourist #2
Clive Scott	...	Tourist #3 - Eager Man

Also Known As:

How It Was with Dooms (USA) (working title)
Shadows (USA) (working title)
Untitled Cheetah Movie (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild adventure peril.

Runtime:

Australia:100 min | USA:100 min | Argentina:100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

South Korea:All | Iceland:LH | Australia:PG | Ireland:G | UK:U | USA:PG | Argentina:Atp | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Africa

Company:

Gaylord Films

Quotes:

Ripkuna: Your cheetah is a great hunter. I'm very impressed... he caught an egg!

Soundtrack:

Rhaliweni (Railway)

A heartwarming coming of age movie that deserves to be seen

I feel fortunate that Warner Brothers has chosen to screen "Duma" here in the Chicago area. I only hope they decide to support a nationwide release because this is a movie that deserves to be seen. I found myself crying several times at the touching story, and also heard my own laughter echoed by others in the theater during the humorous moments.

I found out about "Duma" while I was researching a book I'm currently reading. It's called "The Spotted Sphinx" and is by Joy Adamson - the same woman who wrote "Born Free". During the filming of the movie based on the book "Born Free", Joy was given a young female cheetah and was asked if she could rehabilitate it back into the wild. "The Spotted Sphinx" and its follow-up, "Pippa's Challenge" are about that rehabilitation process. "Duma" is about a similar situation, except it is about a young boy and how he also finds himself while helping his pet cheetah find "home" again. The boy who portrays "Xan" is excellent in the role and you can really feel the love he has for his animal. The cinematography is beautiful, and I was very pleased with how true-to-life they were with how cheetahs interact with people. Cheetahs can be tamed (for the most part) and are very affectionate - something that was shown in the film.

I went to a matinée showing, fully expecting to be one of only a few in the theater, but was pleasantly surprised to find it almost full. There were more adults than children, so that just shows that the limited press "Duma" received was enough to make others want to see this film while they had the chance. I'm an adult, and have no children, but love films that show the beauty of nature and positive interactions with animals. This would be a great film to bring kids to, particularly boys since Xan had such an amazing coming of age adventure.

By the way, the music is excellent too. I really hope they end up releasing this on DVD.