Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The White Massai

Original title: Die weiße Massai
  • 20052005
  • 2h 11m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
3.9K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
7,992
12,171
Nina Hoss and Jacky Ido in The White Massai (2005)
A girl, Carola, whose vacation in Kenya takes an interesting turn when she becomes infatuated with a Masai. Carola decides to leave her boyfriend to stay with her lover. There, she has to adapt to the Masai's way of life and get used to their food which includes milk mixed with blood. She also has to face her husband's attitude towards women and what he expects from a wife. Nonetheless, Carola is welcomed warmly into the tribe she has chosen to join.
Play trailer2:20
1 Video
40 Photos
DramaRomance
A girl, Carola, whose vacation in Kenya takes an interesting turn when she becomes infatuated with a Masai. Carola decides to leave her boyfriend to stay with her lover. There, she has to ad... Read allA girl, Carola, whose vacation in Kenya takes an interesting turn when she becomes infatuated with a Masai. Carola decides to leave her boyfriend to stay with her lover. There, she has to adapt to the Masai's way of life and get used to their food which includes milk mixed with b... Read allA girl, Carola, whose vacation in Kenya takes an interesting turn when she becomes infatuated with a Masai. Carola decides to leave her boyfriend to stay with her lover. There, she has to adapt to the Masai's way of life and get used to their food which includes milk mixed with blood. She also has to face her husband's attitude towards women and what he expects from a... Read all
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
3.9K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
7,992
12,171
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Hermine Huntgeburth
    • Writers
      • Corinne Hofmann(novel)
      • Johannes W. Betz(screenplay)
      • Nadia Fares
    • Stars
      • Nina Hoss
      • Jacky Ido
      • Katja Flint
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Hermine Huntgeburth
    • Writers
      • Corinne Hofmann(novel)
      • Johannes W. Betz(screenplay)
      • Nadia Fares
    • Stars
      • Nina Hoss
      • Jacky Ido
      • Katja Flint
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 31User reviews
    • 28Critic reviews
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 1 nomination

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:20
    Trailer

    Photos40

    Nina Hoss in The White Massai (2005)
    Nina Hoss in The White Massai (2005)
    Nina Hoss, Jacky Ido, and Helen Namaso Lenamarken in The White Massai (2005)
    Jacky Ido in The White Massai (2005)
    Nina Hoss and Jacky Ido in The White Massai (2005)
    Nina Hoss and Janek Rieke in The White Massai (2005)
    Jacky Ido in The White Massai (2005)
    Nina Hoss in The White Massai (2005)
    Nina Hoss and Jacky Ido in The White Massai (2005)
    Nina Hoss and Jacky Ido in The White Massai (2005)
    Nina Hoss and Helen Namaso Lenamarken in The White Massai (2005)
    Nina Hoss and Jacky Ido in The White Massai (2005)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Nina Hoss
    Nina Hoss
    • Carola Mamutelil geb. Lehmann
    Jacky Ido
    Jacky Ido
    • Lemalian Mamutelil
    Katja Flint
    Katja Flint
    • Elisabeth
    Antonio Prester
    • Pater Bernardo
    • (as Nino Prester)
    Janek Rieke
    • Stefan
    Helen Namaso Lenamarken
    • Lemalians Mama
    Nicolas Sironka
    • Mini-Chief
    Damaris Itenyo Agweyu
    • Asma
    • (as Damaris Agweyu)
    Barbara M. Ahren
    • Carolas Mutter
    • (as Barbara Magdalena Ahren)
    Robert Dölle
    Robert Dölle
    • Frank
    Barbara Herschbach
    • Jenny
    Morgan Lematampash
    • Tom
    Kiriniyaga Lenamatiyo
    • John
    Christine Namkuny
    • Saguna
    John Erick
    • Mike
    Charles Magati Ongeri
    • Moses
    Maya Akinyi Spybey
    • Sarai
    Salim
    • Samburukrieger 1
    • Director
      • Hermine Huntgeburth
    • Writers
      • Corinne Hofmann(novel)
      • Johannes W. Betz(screenplay)
      • Nadia Fares
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    A Year Ago in Winter
    7.1
    A Year Ago in Winter
    Nowhere in Africa
    7.5
    Nowhere in Africa
    Single by Contract
    6.5
    Single by Contract
    Beyond Silence
    7.4
    Beyond Silence
    Lemming
    6.7
    Lemming
    Desert Flower
    7.3
    Desert Flower
    A Chance Encounter
    6.2
    A Chance Encounter
    6.4
    Der Stinkstiefel
    The White Massai Warrior
    7.4
    The White Massai Warrior
    Shooting Dogs
    7.6
    Shooting Dogs
    How About Adolf?
    7.1
    How About Adolf?
    Das perfekte Geheimnis
    6.6
    Das perfekte Geheimnis

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The cast and crew lived in tents among the Samburu during the entire shoot. They also studied their language and customs.
    • Connections
      Featured in Smagsdommerne: Episode #3.14 (2006)

    User reviews31

    Review
    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    One of the Most Incredible Romances, 20 August 2009
    The Swiss Carola Lehmann (Nina Hoss) has a crush on the Samburu warrior Lemalian Mamutelil (Jacky Ido) while traveling by ferry in the last day of her two week vacation in Kenya with her boyfriend Stefan (Janek Rieke). She talks to Lemalian and on the next morning, instead of returning to Biel, in Switzerland, Carola decides to leave Stefan and seek out Lemalian. She travels to Nairobi by bus; then to Maralal, where she befriends the Caucasian Elizabeth Muzungu (Katja Flint) married with a Kikuyu that explains some important details of the Samburu culture to her; when Lemalian meets her, they walk together to his isolated pastoralist tribe in Barsaloi. Carola is welcomed by his people and along the years, she sells her shop in Switzerland and marries Lemalian, having a daughter with him. She also runs a store in the location. However, their differences of cultures force Carola to take an ultimate attitude and return to her country.

    "The Weisse Massai" is one of the most incredible romances I have ever seen. The reason is not racial, but how the bourgeois Carola could leave her middle-class lifestyle to live with Lemalian in the middle of nowhere in his tribe of shepherds. The acting is top-notch as well as the cinematography.

    However it seems that there are inaccuracies between the title, the character Lemalian and the story between Maasai and Samburu people. Both are semi-nomadic indigenous that lives in Kenya and Maralal is located within the Samburu District, but they are people totally distinct from each other. Lemalian speaks English and the Maasai are also educated in this language, supporting the title of the movie. But Lemalian mentions in Nairobi when he goes with Carola to the Immigration Department that he is a Samburu "murran" (warrior) and he is illiterate, what is a contradiction. The screenplay writer did not do his homework; he should be more careful while writing about a true event and make a research. Unfortunately IMDb censorship did not accept my original review and I needed to rewrite removing the references to the Wikipedia that gave a better explanation to this contradiction. Despite this inconsistency, this movie is engaging and highly recommended. My vote is eight.

    Title (Brazil): "A Massai Branca" ("The White Massai")
    helpful•14
    7
    • claudio_carvalho
    • Aug 26, 2009

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 15, 2005 (Germany)
    • Country of origin
      • Germany
    • Official site
      • Constantin Film (Germany)
    • Languages
      • German
      • Swahili
      • English
    • Also known as
      • La princesa Masai
    • Filming locations
      • Kenya
    • Production companies
      • Bayerischer Banken-Fonds
      • Constantin Film
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • €7,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $22,632,255
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 11 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • Dolby SR
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Nina Hoss and Jacky Ido in The White Massai (2005)
    Top Gap
    What is the English language plot outline for The White Massai (2005)?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    New & Upcoming Superhero Movies and Series
    See the full list
    View list
    List
    Fall TV Guide: The Best Shows Coming This Year
    See the full list
    View image
    Photos
    Double Take: Celebrity Twins
    See the full list
    Back to top

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more access
    Sign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.