Ivy Nkutha Movies
- 2006
Controversial South African helmer Darrell James Roodt (Sarafina!, Yesterday), writes and directs the experimental melodrama Faith's Corner. The effort (which recalls and suggests influence by Ousmane Sembene's 1966 Borom Sarret) weaves the tale of an impoverished mother named Faith (Leleti Khumalo) who travels to a Johannesburg street corner each morning with her two sons, Siyabonga (Sibonelo Xulu) and Lucky (Thobani Khybeka), and begs for change - only to run head first into jeers and catcalls from the passersby. In time, Faith discovers the existence of a day care center that will take the boys in, but brings them back after learning that it lowers her alms. She is subsequently crushed by the escalating burden of grief and sorrow. Roodt filmed the picture with an ancient, hand-cranked camera and dated film stock to give it a yellowed aesthetic; he also avoids the use of all sync sound and works in title cards. Philip Glass scored the picture, and interlaces the music with sound effects to coincide with many of the images. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leleti Khumalo, Thobani Khybeka, (more)
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," which means "male cheetah cub" in Swahili), Xan and his new friend become inseparable. However, Xan and his parents discover in time that nature doesn't always have a happy ending planned for a little boy. Duma was based on a book for children called How It Was With Dooms: A True Story From Africa, by Carol Cawthra Hopcraft and Xan Hopcraft, which told the story of Xan's real-life friendship with a cheetah. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alexander Michaletos, Eamonn Walker, (more)
