Customer Reviews

Wondrous Oblivion

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

OK, so as an American you don't know anything about Cricket. That's OK. What you need to know, the film gives you because it really isn't about the game, it's about families, friendship, and racism. Set in the 1960s London, but not tied to a specific year, we get to know David Wiseman (played invitingly by Sam Smith) as a boy full of daydreams, a tremendous love for Cricket, and absolutely no ability. He can't catch, can't throw, can't run, and can't hit. Of course, this means that his friends at the school he attends (we would call it a private school in America) make fun of him. David doesn't care because he loves the game so much he is oblivious to the state of his skills. The coaches finally put him on the team to change the scoreboard (there are lots of runs in Cricket).

He lives in a working class neighborhood with its tiny yard, and the row houses mean that the neighbors are all busybodies, too. Being the only Jewish family in the neighborhood they get treated differently, but coldly polite since it is fewer than 20 years since the end of the World War II and the holocaust. David's father has a little shop that consumes all of his time and attention. In one scene, the family is sitting around the table making cushions to sell in the shop.

David's mother, Ruth (Emily Woof), is clearly younger than the father and seems almost too pretty to be the wife of a small time shopkeeper. This becomes an important fact in the story. She is a person of dreams and emotions. And while she is devoted to her family and especially her children, the father's obsession with work denies her the emotional fulfillment she clearly needs.

A new family is moving in next door to them and somehow the neighborhood makes it the Wiseman's responsibility as to who moves in. Why, I cannot fathom. People are crushed when it is a Jamaican (read black) family. Delroy Lindo plays Dennis with real presence and emotional complexity. A very friendly man, Dennis has clearly been away from his wife and daughters for a long time. He begins setting up a practice Cricket net in their small backyard and David is in rapture. He befriends Dennis and his daughter, Lilian, whom Dennis is teaching to play the game. Dennis has great skill at the game and is devoted to it and apparently played it quite seriously.

The rest of the movie exposes the elements set out here. David becomes great friends with Judith, but the issue of race is still, sadly, in their friendship. Dennis gladly teaches David how to play the game and Ruth is grateful to him. However, the friendship she develops with the more emotionally present man next door leads to a couple of acutely uncomfortable scenes (for those who think the marriage relationship to be sacred) that reveal other important aspects about Dennis and his devotion to his wife and daughters.

The neighborhood racists exacerbate the normal tensions that exist when people suppose that race matters in the least (as almost everyone did in the 1960s). Difficult drifts to worse and a crisis occurs that wakes everyone up to the destructive nature of their bigotry.

I found this to be an enjoyable movie. It can be a good film to discuss with your children, but those two scenes between Ruth and Dennis will require some thought on how to use it with your family and probably makes the film unusable for young children. However, they might not even catch what is happening between them.

It is well acted, has a pretty good story, and as I noted, the fact that you are unlikely to know Cricket here in the U.S. is not important. It only uses Cricket as a means to tell the story, it isn't really about the game.

"Wondrous Oblivion" is a movie about coming to terms with differences. We are all different, yet deep within, we are all alike. Powerful proof of this is the relation between the boy in the movie (a white Jewish kid living in a Jewish neighborhood in Britain, some time in the sixties) and the black man living next door (a Jamaican family man who recently moved in). Both share a love for cricket and the sport unites them in the middle of an odd circumstance, where the rest of the neighbors embark on a racist crusade against the newly arrived black family. The boy's family overcomes their initial prejudice and stand up firm for their neighbors and what's right, as they realize how much alike they all are, in spite of the difference in the color of their skins.

Though there are a couple of moments that may not be the most appropriate for children under 13, the movie in general is a great lesson in tolerance and friendship for everyone in the family.

I am always looking for a good, coming of age movie to share with my kids, ones without the usual violence and special effects to knock you off your seat. Wondrous Oblivion delivers this and so much more as it goes straight for your heart. It's a coming of age drama with some very touching moments as two families learn more about themselves than they may have originally cared to. One family, Jews touched by the horrors of the Holocaust face discrimination in their small English town but then must face the darkness of their own prejudice when a black family moves next door. I was impressed with David's father, Victor, a man of deep conviction who struggled in silence with threats against his family while dealing with his own uneasiness and fear of the black family his son is now becoming so attached to. What I originally interpreted as stubbornness soon reveals itself as an internal conflict within his own soul.
This is a wonderful movie for families and I highly recommend watching it with your children. The lesson they will learn from this beautiful movie will last a lifetime.

WONDROUS OBLIVION may seem a puzzling title for this film about racism, coming of age, and understanding and acceptance, but if it is meant to tag the feelings with which the viewer is left after the film, the phrase describes it well. Some critics have labeled this a cross between BILLY ELLIOTT and FAR FROM HEAVEN and while that comparison may be a bit too heavy, the films share many things in common. Writer/director Paul Morrison has stirred the pot of nostalgia with all the right ingredients the result is a film that should bring a very large audience to its feet.

The time is the 1960s in London in a neighborhood shared by Jews and other faiths. One family in particular, the Wisemans, live comfortably as German immigrants whose elder family members died in Nazi Germany. David Wiseman (Sam Smith) is eleven years old, and preoccupied with cricket, a sport for which he collects souvenir cards and idolizes players yet who has no skills at playing the game, but stays with his passion with the school team as a score keeper. His father Victor (Stanley Townsend) is all business, and his mother Ruth (Emily Woof) is a kind woman who seems to need more attention than her husband offers. Into the house next door moves a family from Jamaica - Dennis (Delroy Lindo), his wife and two daughters are happy people and play Jamaican music while they construct an odd entity in the tiny back yard, a construction that ends up being a cricket court as Dennis and his daughter are devoted cricket players.

In no time the shy David introduces himself and shortly becomes invited to join in learning how to play cricket with the warmly loving Dennis and family. David learns the game well enough to become part of the school playing team and with his increased popularity he is honored with a birthday party, a party to which his new friend form cricket lessons next door is not invited. Hurt, she refuses to play with David any more and that fact unveils a series of events that have been in existence progressively since the black family moved into the white neighborhood. David's mother is warmly noticed by Dennis and the two come very close to a love relationship. Finally a tragedy occurs that brings out all of the needs and the prejudices, the feelings and the commitments that serve to change the way each of the families in the now mixed neighborhood view each other. The tragedy becomes a blessing in disguise.

The flavor of the 1960s, the importance of familial Judaism, the joy of the Jamaican view of life and the bigotry that can decimate good people are all captured with great finesse by Morrison. The large cast is excellent with Sam Smith and Delroy Lindo giving particularly fine performances. This is a film that will warm the heart, teach us more about things we little understand, and leave us with the hope that Morrison will make more films of this high caliber. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, March 07

I saw this movie twice. I have been yearning to see it again and look forward to it coming on regular DVD (NTSC???)It is a great movie I think to be enjoyed by all ages and cultures. West Indians and other immigrants will certainly be able to relate to a lot of the scenes and scenarios.

David Wiseman, the 13-year-old hero of this sweet coming-of-age story, is obsessed with cricket -- but has no idea how to actually bat, bowl or field. The son of repressed, fearful Holocaust survivors, he is unlucky enough to be growing up in early 1960s London where racism, anti-Semitism and good old British snobbery are never far below the surface.
Having grown up with a somewhat similar background in that place and time myself, I can attest that the movie is spot-on in its depiction of British society of that era.
David's fortunes change when a Jamaican family moves in next door and proceeds to built a cricket net (the equivalent of a batting cage) in the narrow back garden. David is drawn to the family like a moth to a bright light. He makes friends with the father and eldest daughter who is his own age and they start coaching him in cricket.
I won't give away all the plot developments of this movie. Suffice to say that the acting is very good, the characters sympathetic (with the exception of the racist extremists who raise their ugly heads) and you don't need to know anything about cricket to enjoy this movie.
It was slightly spoiled for me by an overly sweet "Disney" ending in which everything is neatly and happily resolved in a way that rarely happens in real life. Still, this movie brought back many memories, sweet and bitter, for me. I recommend it.

Thoroughly delightful. Very educational regarding the sport of cricket, little known or appreciated in the US.

When I was young I would gather my plastic army men and wooden blocks that my brother made me and proceed to orchestrate battles as grand in scope as Iwo Jima. In my mind, the soldiers would bark orders, charge the hills, take schrapnal, and as all wars go many would die. Many a brave little, green man remains buried in my old backyard to this day.

Such is the case in Wondrous Oblivion. (Don't worry, if you can't remember the title you will be reminded about a dozen times throughout the movie, not a bad thing.) David Wiseman wants to be the worlds greatest cricket player, and if heart were the measure of greatness in such a sport, the movie would be over in 10 seconds. In his spare time he collects hundreds of crackerjack cricket cards, much like baseball cards. One of the nicest touches in the film is how these cards are handled when he is alone with them. The writer of the movie has an understanding of the inner workings of a child's mind.

David lives with his jewish family in a predominantly british neighborhood. The neighbors seem to "tolerate" the fact that they are jews, and can only be described as nosey, busy bodies. If you are familiar with Anne of Green Gables - Rachel Lynde on steroids.

The core of the story is the boys love of the game, and how the black family (The Samuels) that have moved in next door teaches him how to overcome his awkwardness and put his heart where his cricket bat is. Surrounding the core is the racial indifference towards the Samuels and Wisemans. One nice scene occurs when Davids father hears a noise outside and goes to the window to investigate. Subtle and powerful.

If there were any complaints about the film, it would have to involve Davids mother and her ever increasing infatuation with Mr Samuels. Though the subject matter is handled tastefully, I think it may be a little much for a pg movie aimed at kids. It may be a little difficult for them to digest, especially one scene. Again though, there is a great lesson learned here and is true to the characters involved. For older children you could take advantage of the situation to teach some morals.

There is a lot to be learned from Wondrous Oblivion: Overcoming obstacles, chasing your dream, and the importance of family. Kids have so few movies to chose from, and so little to allow their own imaginations to work (as computer technology does all the work for them now). It's nice to see movies like Wondrous Oblivion and Secondhand Lions come along which teach can deep lessons - if you want them - but at the very least spark the imagination. Great Film.

I love this movie set in London in the early sixties. The story reflects on racism with the changing face of Britain as immigrants arrive from post-war Europe and the Caribbean. Through neighbors and social relationships its the story of how we break through barriers of race to see the human beings inside of the color of their skin and through the accents of their voice. The movie has a great soundtrack if you love older reggae and dance hall music. My friend and I, actually saw this movie at the Jewish film festival and I loved it so much I wanted to share it and I ordered it online at Amazon. Also if you or a movie friend loves cricket its an extra bonus. Some great cinematography and special affects- very clever and creative. If you like feel good movies with a bit of an edge that makes you think when you wake up the next day then this movie is a must.

A feel-good picture, starring the excellent Delroy Lindo from "The Ciderhouse Rules." As head of a Jamaican immigrant family moving into a London neighborhood whose occupants are suspicious are barely tolerant of newcomers, he befriends the son of the Jewish family next door in teaching him the finer points of cricket, a game the kid loves but is lousy at, so much so that his coach at school relegates him to scorer instead of player. Very nicely done all around, this movie deserves a far wider audience than it received upon release. Rent it or buy it, but by all means SEE it!