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:

1960s | neighbor | friendship | bigotry | kitchen | 

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Taglines:

A wide-eyed boy in a narrow-minded world.

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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

London Fields

This is one of the best films about the immigrant experience in the UK that I've seen in a while.

It starts off appearing to be about a very English-looking German Jewish boy who's family are ultra-assimilationist and who wants nothing more than to succeed at the most English of sports, Cricket.

As it unfolds it takes in the experiences of some of the first West Indians to come to England, and are much more talented at cricket but doomed to suffer the depradations of little Englanders by virtue of their high melanin levels.

The complex racial issues that ensue are handled in a way that's sensitive and believable, as long as you can believe that the young jewish boy really is jewish, and not the scion of some old anglo-Norman family. The period detail is pretty spot on as well, though the use of colourised pathe footage slightly jars with the overall aesthetic of the film.

Mercifully, you don't have to be able to understand cricket to get this film, just appreciate how difficult it can be to live in a strange country