12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Die Weisse Massai - The White Masai, February 23, 2009
This review is from: The White Massai (Unrated Uncut Version) (Subtitled in English, Region 1 DVD) (DVD)
I have read the book & also seen the movie. Although the two are quite different from each other, they are both good in their own right.
I purchased the movie that was an import, "All zone PAL" meaning you can watch it on your computer not on your DVD player (if you live in the USA). It was uncut & unrated (126 minutes)Thai DVD - Language spoken in Duetch/Thai & Subtitles are in English/Thai.
This is the only version that I know of that has English subtitles.
It is very hard to explain for myself the feelings that watching this movie evoked in me because they are polar opposite -
On one hand you have a woman that doesn't really know this man, his background, his culture ... I mean n-o-t-h-i-n-g (it's pretty much a relationship based on physical attraction). She ends up finding this man & jumping head first into a world that is extremely hard & on certain levels shocking! She lives where there is no running water, no electricity, a few cars in the whole area, where female circumcision is the way for a child to becoming a woman, as well as giving your first born to your husbands mother. Not to forget that your home is a hut constructed with dried cow dung. This life style is hard on the native Masai people let alone someone from a completely different background
... but ...
it is this woman's same determination that makes you stand up & applaud her courage for adjusting & living in a way that most people would have given up in the first week or died trying.
How many people do you know(family, friends, etc.) that have jumped into a relationship with someone based on a physical attraction?? I personally can count more than a few ... They go into a relationship based on looks & learn about "who" the person is later on. People are people where ever you are in this world - we all have the same feelings regardless of our background, nationality, culture, and skin color. When you take 2 people from such extremely different backgrounds & throw in barely knowing each others language - you take an already hard situation & make it even more difficult.
It is a beautiful movie with a sad story for not only Carola but also for the Samburu warrior Lemalian.
If your looking for a movie that is different, unique & based on a true story - This one may interest you. A few words of caution with this DVD: Some of the content is graphic (a few scenes with sexual situations & nudity, a still birth, & a scene where a young girl (approx 12-14 year old) is going to be circumcised. For myself personally ... I wish there was an edited version - it was too graphic for me (this was the only copy I found to have English subtitles & wasn't aware of how graphic is was. This was my opinion - yours may be different.
Hopefully this can help anyone who is contemplating whether or not to get this movie. I would strongly suggest reading the book first (it is very simply put together & easy to read) it will give you soooo much more depth to the characters & there lives.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The White Masai, August 27, 2011
This review is from: The White Massai (Unrated Uncut Version) (Subtitled in English, Region 1 DVD) (DVD)
The White Masai The film is interesting, romantic, such as White Masai quickly becomes accustomed to the culture of the man she loves.
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