The Doe Boy (2001)

Wonderful character development!

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Talk about movies that slip under the radar! Almost nobody heard about The Doe Boy and there really isn't a good - or even acceptable reason.Slowly paced this very gentle film packs an emotional wallop few films with far bigger budgets, more stars and loftier reaching stories could hope to achieve. Doe Boy is about Hunter - a boy with an American Indian mother and white father. Hunter is a hemophiliac, a disease seemingly unknown to Native Americans and which separates him further, forever making him feel like an outsider. His macho father (an absolutely terrific performance by Kevin Anderson) loves him, but is ever let down by the boy's inability to be more physically active because of his disease.As the film traces Hunter's story from childhood through his late teens, we see the difficulty of the relationship between he and his father strained to the limits as well as the inability of his mother to let him go and become the man her son needs to be.James Duval gives a performance that is positively incandescent; it is an amazing achievement. With relatively little dialogue, it is through facial features and body language that he fills Hunter with a sense of defiance and a desperate need for acceptance. We witness the painful struggle he endures of always being different, in not one, but numerous ways. Acceptance and understanding do not come easy, but with the aid of his wise grandfather, a beautiful girl, and coming to grips with his heritage and and the forces of nature, Hunter's journey is one that everyone should be able to relate to. It is a brilliant, moving performance.In every way this quiet, little movie is about as perfect as indie film can be. A joy to watch.

After watching this film a few times I fully understand why James Duval's character was extremely frustrated growing up during childhood. In my opinion, his father was just a controlling white guy who didn't give 2 hoots about his wife's Cherokee culture. It was hard to tell if he truly loved his family or not. But I didn't get any impression that he cared enough about them. I don't know why he married into a Native family to begin with. He clearly didn't care about their ways, customs and culture. He didn't even agree with the boy's grandfather, Marvin, who in my eyes was as respectably knowledgeable as any true Elder would be. Other than the fact that Duval's father was completely disrespectful towards the Native ways, I really don't know why he was so desensitized to his wife's Native ways.I recall one scene where him and Duval were talking downstairs in the basement. Apparently they were talking about something regarding a war of some sort. After a few minutes the discussion turned into an argument and the father ended up slapping him across the face just because he told him something that was absolutely true. The father didn't want to hear it because he knew it was true so he physically lashed out on him. Of course, he had no right touching him like that. He should have just admitted his guilt and that's it. The next day when he told his wife what happened between him and his son, he didn't even bother to apologize about the whole incident. All he said to her was that there was no way he was going to tolerate his son talking to him in that manner, that's all. He may have acted out of pure discipline when he struck him like that but unless he was his real father, he had no right hitting him..... period! But...... anyways...... it was a good film overall. I'm a big Alex Rice fan and she was great in it. I liked her Oklahoman accent.... she played her part very well..... and Nathaniel Arcand was excellent as usual too!! But..... ANYWAY..... these are my reasons why I gave this film a 6 out of 10.

This movie was the biggest piece of absolute hog-wash that I had ever seen. I am from the town where the film was shot and I am also Cherokee and I must say . . . this movie (with my Indian heritage and all) made absolutely no sense. I left the room wondering what in the world I had just seen. The movie is filled with awful acting, no story-line and just nothingness. I will admit that the filmography was good. It is professionally presented although it is a "B" movie but otherwise I wouldn't go see it again if they paid me. What do you get when you cross a hemophiliac-native American with a poor story, bad acting and complete rubbish? Doe-Boy!

Story about an Hemophiliac Indian boy faced with cultural differences within family. Delves into the daily life and how each family member/friend deals with the situation. Good depiction of a typical boy who beats to a different drum. I would define it as dramatic, yet entertaining. Worth adding to your viewing list.