Wondrous Oblivion

[Slats4ever]

This afternoon I was snooping round the Video shop looking for a good movie to rent and on the bottom of one of the shelves I struck gold. I'd finally found a cricket movie...

Wondrous Oblivion is about a young English boy called David Wiseman. David plays cricket for school but he really sux and the cricket coach makes him the scorer. Then a Jamaican family moves in next door. They build a net in their back yard... David thinks he's in heaven and the old Jamaican guy teaches him cricket. But this is just the start of their problems.

Who else has seen the movie and what did you think?

I thought it was probably about 3 stars. It was a little bit of a bad version of Billy Elliot almost. I think if you didn't like cricket it woulda sucked.

[Hoggy31]

I've heard of another cricket movie. Where some british guys teach a remote Indian village how to play cricket.

[Slats4ever]

any names?

[Langeveldt]

I've heard of another cricket movie. Where some british guys teach a remote Indian village how to play cricket.

Lagaan

[Slats4ever]

is it bollywood?

[Langeveldt]

is it bollywood?

Yeh, its in Hindi with English subtitles, and obviously the English dudes speak English.. Its more of a musical than a film tho

[Kweek]

ya, ive seen it, found it in holland actually! jumped high when i found it
i thought it was pretty good, entertaining, and with a message hidden in it too, i liked it.

[Jono]

is it bollywood?

You haven't heard of Lagaan: Once Upon A Time In India? Its reasonably well known. Top movie IMO and fairly well critically reviewed from many corners. I recommend you give it a go.

Anyway I just searched Wondrous Oblivion on IMDb and this is the summary I found.

Young Jewish lad David's passion is cricket. Unfortunately he's pretty hopeless at it so is delighted that the new next-door neighbours are also cricket lovers - they even put a net up in the garden - and are prepared to coach him. But this is 1950's London and they are West Indian, so David's parents find themselves under pressure to put an end to their son's friendship. As they themselves are immigrants from wartime Germany who have suffered bigotry in Britain they have difficult choices to make.

I'll definitely have a look out for this.

[steds]

jumped high when i found it

You were probably high anyway...

[Agent TBY]

I've heard of another cricket movie. Where some british guys teach a remote Indian village how to play cricket.

That's not it, actually. They challenge the villagers to defeat them in a cricket match, where a victory means they're exempt from (unfair) taxes, but if they fail, the entire village has to pay double the amount of (already unfair) tax.

[Sanz]

Best Movie on Cricket is IQBAL.

Iqbal Preview from BBC

Very well written, acted and directed. IQBAL THE MOVIE

[Neil Pickup]

I actually bought this on DVD. As I type, I can't recall exactly why I bought it, probably the sheer novelty of it being about cricket.

The cricket scenes are fairly cack, it has to be said - but the actor (Sam Smith IIRC) plays the emotional parts of the film reasonably well (it's got just about the right amout of childish awkwardness in it). Nice happy smiley ending, too. Not entirely sure about the appropriateness or relevance of the smoking-behind-the-bike-sheds scene, mind.

[Armadillo]

That's not it, actually. They challenge the villagers to defeat them in a cricket match, where a victory means they're exempt from (unfair) taxes, but if they fail, the entire village has to pay double the amount of (already unfair) tax.

Triple actually.

[Burpey]

Yeh, its in Hindi with English subtitles, and obviously the English dudes speak English.. Its more of a musical than a film tho

Since when is a musical not a film?

[Armadillo]

Since when is a musical not a film?

Although it is intended to be a film, the amount of songs (4 or 5) is irregular for Langevelt's everyday film, therefore he may see it as a musical. Most films in Bollywood are alike in this nature.