A lot of parents, myself included, enjoy movies and are constantly looking for something worthwhile to attend a theater and take our kids to. I prefer to enjoy the movie I've paid for and would rather be at least a little interested. Unfortunately the last few years have been extremely hard on parents; if we want to take our kids to movies we might as well sleep because the movie is going to insult our intelligence and have the kids repeating the most annoying catch phrases for the next week. I'd rather not and try to keep that kind of movie watching to a minimum or less. I found Duma by accident while I was looking through foreign films to be shown at Seattle's Northwest Film Forum. There they had a small summary of the film and I was curious to see if they were right. I took my husband and eight-year-old daughter to see Duma and was very pleased. Duma has the cute cat, a cute kid, loving parents, but also something more about growing up with a conscience and braving your environment to accomplish something great. I saw Black Beauty as a child and loved it. So tonight when I saw Duma I was surprised that the director Carroll Ballard also directed Fly Away Home another winner movie. This is the sort of film that makes you feel good as if you have watched Disney's White Fang. The previous reviewer mentioned that it was reminiscent of Walkabout; another good film. But how many films do we get to see a realistic Africa in? If the Disney company could take a lesson and hire intelligent directors like Carroll Ballard and I wouldn't have to screen the critics before going to the movies--boy that would be nice. I'm also grateful to Roger Ebert for recommending this film and making Warner Brothers take notice that the film they were ready to shelf is worth more than they give it credit for. My daughter cried, and laughter and said she really liked this film. I feel the same way, but on so many more levels. Kudos to everyone who worked on this film to make it worth substance!
Review of Duma
