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Overview

User Rating:
7.0/10   712 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 17% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Paul Morrison
Writer:
Paul Morrison (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Wondrous Oblivion on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
23 April 2004 (UK) more
Genre:
Comedy | Drama | Family | Sport more
Tagline:
A wide-eyed boy in a narrow-minded world. more
Plot:
Eleven-year-old David Wiseman is mad about cricket but no good at it. He has the entire kit but none of the skill... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
3 wins & 3 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(9 articles)
Little Ashes director Paul Morrison talks about the film, the cast, and the future: an exclusive
 (From Twilight Examiner. 6 May 2009, 10:37 AM, PDT)
Chock Full Of Spock
 (From IFC. 4 May 2009, 6:47 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Rubbish at Cricket more (23 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Sam Smith ... David Wiseman
Leagh Conwell ... Jessop
Dominic Barklem ... Pritchard
Jo Stone-Fewings ... Mr. Pugh
Emily Woof ... Ruth Wiseman

Yasmin Paige ... Lilian
Richard Ashton ... W.G. Grace
Carol MacReady ... Mrs. Wilson
Stanley Townsend ... Victor
Osnat Schmool ... Mrs. Glickstein
Mark Penfold ... Head Teacher
Tom Roberts ... James Bryce
Philip Whitchurch ... Mr. Woodberry
Angela Wynter ... Grace Wiseman
Petra Letang ... Loretta Samuel
more
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated PG for thematic material, some violence, sensuality, language including racial remarks, and brief smoking by minors.
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
106 min
Country:
France | UK | Germany
Language:
English | Hebrew | Yiddish
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Certification:
USA:PG | Australia:PG | Germany:6 | UK:PG
Filming Locations:
Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, England, UK more
Company:
APT Films more

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
11 out of 13 people found the following comment useful.
Rubbish at Cricket, 9 December 2004
Author: Ion Martea from London, UK

"Wondrous Oblivion" is a film that has as its motive one of the most boring sports out there (at least for those who don't play it) – cricket. Thankfully, Paul Morrison's second feature, after the award winning "Solomon and Gaenor" (1999), is not about cricket at all.

We are given a coming of age story of a Jewish boy, David (Sam Smith), born in the family of two Holocaust survivors in the 1950s England: Victor (Stanley Townsend), a Polish émigré, and a very young Ruth (Emily Woof), coming from Germany. The boy has an empowering passion for cricket, obvious from his massive card collection of cricket celebrities. However, he is totally rubbish at it. His destiny is to change when a Jamaican émigré family comes next door, and sets up an improvised cricket court. Dennis Samuels (Delroy Lindo) teaches the boy the craftsmanship of the sport, and becomes a close friend of David.

All seems a very familiar bad-sportsman-turns-great story, but Morrison's script is ingenious enough not to fall in the stereotypical Hollywood film-making. The boy doesn't end up the great sportsman that we all wish him to be, but learns something greater, something more important in the process. And this is the 'wondrous oblivion' the author intended to deliver… The 1960s as a whole becomes a decade of surprising changes and animosity, and yet all characters seem to remain static in their conception of their beliefs.

This is a good film, and it is worth seeing for the original cinematography and a moving performance from Emily Woof ("Passion", "The Full Monty"), which steals the whole film. Watch out for the dance scene with Lindo, which is dominated both by passion, and religious taboos, and it is surprisingly sexy. The only three problems in the movie are the simplicity with each the Holocaust theme is being treated, the poor knowledge of Jewish faith, as well as the stereotypical two-dimensionality of the entire supporting cast. But this applies only for a picky audience.

"Wondrous Oblivion" is one of those films that one cannot dislike, or at least loathe. Pacing, beautiful, and quite funny really.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Wondrous Oblivion (2003)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Good for cricket lovers and 'haters' alike. gakka86
soundtrack of Wondrous Oblivion migalho
FANTASTIC MOVIE netflowers
at the end? (spoilers) fnord-9
Delroy Lindo not first billed? sherbomb
Bend it Like Beckham with Cricket, but... JackFreitas
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