Wondrous Oblivion (2003)

Eleven-year-old David Wiseman is mad about cricket but no good at it. He has the entire kit but none of the skill, and he's a laughingstock at school. So when a Jamaican family moves in ... See full summary »

Director:

Paul Morrison

Writer:

Paul Morrison

Stars:

Sam Smith, Leagh Conwell, Dominic Barklem

2 wins & 4 nominations.

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 Wiseman
Osnat Schmool	...	Mrs. Glickstein
Mark Penfold	...	Head Teacher
Tom Roberts	...	James Bryce
Philip Whitchurch	...	Mr. Woodberry
Angela Wynter	...	Grace Wiseman
Petra Letang	...	Loretta Samuel

Storyline

Eleven-year-old David Wiseman is mad about cricket but no good at it. He has the entire kit but none of the skill, and he's a laughingstock at school. So when a Jamaican family moves in next door and builds a cricket net in the back garden, David is in seventh heaven. But this is 1960s Britain, and when the neighbours start to make life difficult for the new arrivals, David's family is caught in the middle, and he has to choose between fitting in and standing up for the new friends who have turned his world upside-down.

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Plot Keywords:

beer | gift | cricket the sport | downpour | 1960s | 

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Taglines:

Catching onto the game if one thing... but grasping it is another.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic material, some violence, sensuality, language including racial remarks, and brief smoking by minors

Details

Country:

France UK Germany

Language:

English Hebrew Yiddish

Release Date:

23 April 2004 (UK)

Also Known As:

Davids wundersame Welt

Filming Locations:

Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£55,352 (United Kingdom), 25 April 2004, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,740, 28 July 2006, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$88,560, 12 November 2006

Company Credits

Production Co:

APT Films,Met Film Production,Met Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

Bowled me over

I've not a lot to add to what's already been said (it's nice how movies like this attract intelligent and insightful comments). I didn't think it owed a lot to `Billy Elliot' but there certainly parallels with `Bend it Like Beckham' - sport as a way to acceptance in a new society. The wrinkle here is that young David Wiseman has desire, but no apparent talent. The suspension of our disbelief is severely strained when his new West Indian neighbour Dennis coaches him to competence in his tiny back yard. As coach Ian Holm put it to aspiring Olympian Ben Cross in `Chariots of Fire' `an athlete does not find a coach, the coach finds the athlete'. Well, I suppose Dennis must have seen something in David. And David certainly has dreams of success via his talking cricket card collection.

Otherwise this is a perfectly delightful movie about growing up and fitting in. Even David's mother's flirtation with Dennis does not end in disaster. The reactionaries fail to drive away the newcomers and it doesn't even rain at the final cricket match (this can't be England!). Gary Sobers and Frank Worrall (played by actors) turn up. Pretty fanciful but utterly charming.