Dirkie

I watched this film as a 5 yr old and as i grew up i thought i'd dreamt it yrs ago,it had so affected me, and as an adult i tried to find it and like so many others i didn't no what it was called. so i searched for it for about a year and was so happy when found it, i was 38, so my search was finally over,i bought it from a south African shop thru the internet,it was quite good as i had to pay in rands and i had never done that before . it was on video and i couldn't wait for it to arrive, i think you can now but it on DVD,it was totally weird watching it as an adult and i loved it so much i watched it twice...back to back. i am so glad i am not the only person who was thoroughly affected by this film ... my daddy loves he'll come and find me ( that sentence still sends shivers thru me) thanks ... and it was doubled with oliver twist ...

I have just finished watching the film "Duma" on one of the movies channels on Homechoice in the UK and throughout kept having flashes of a film I half remembered which I saw as a kid. At first I thought "Duma" must be a remake but there were too many deviations.

After a phone call to South Africa and a lot of arguing my Mother reminded me that as a kid we saw a movie called "Dirkie" at the drive-in in Joh'burg. I wasn't even at school and she has never yet managed to remember both plot and title.

I was sure she was wrong. I'd never heard of "Dirkie" and then I looked up the title on the Internet and had a great time reading all the comments.

I too remember this poor kid being chased by ostriches and getting stung by a scorpion. And walking for ever through the sand. Were the chapped lips and mouth that was stuck together the reason there was so little dialogue? Or was it that the boy was Afrikaans-speaking and the movie was being sold outside of SA?

So if you want to watch something similar (or perhaps you're a home-sick South African sitting in a freezing cold London) I recommend "Duma". It is a kid's movie but very touching. I think I'll have to find an excuse to watch it again.

Dirkie is a brave endearing little boy. I was a young boy when I watched this movie and I always wanted to have his courage. WAtching the movie again reminded me again of the strength of the human spirit. What a story of how this little boy miraculously lives for weeks alone in the desert.

I remember seeing this incredible film in 1977/78 in a double bill with 'Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger". I was three years old and yet it has remained firmly lodged in the back of my memory. The only problem was that I did not know the name of the film. I remember absolutely clearly the scene where the boy thinks the natives have cooked his dog, the boy realising that he has just eaten his only friend. I remember wailing and moaning in the cinema, traumatised by this act of impossible perversity. Finally i know the name of this film which made such a huge impression on me. i will track it down as soon as possible and I would suggest other imdb users do the same.

Like others I saw Lost in the Desert as a child. It was the second feature, but the main film is long forgotten. I also remember many scenes very vividly though it must be nearly 30 years since I saw them: the snake, the father dropping flyers, cooking the eggs on a rock, and the bushmen cooking the dog, or so he thinks.

As a dreamy kid who longed to escape from my life (join the club), it was an exciting and terrifying film.

By a weird coincidence I just did an interview for a radio station in Johannesburg in which I mentioned how few South African films I had had the chance to see. I had no idea until now that Lost in The Desert was South African. I would love to see it again, and show it to my nephews who are 4 and 8.