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List Price: $19.94 | | Label: Sony Pictures
Salesrank: 50683
Released: November 21, 2006 |
| Our Price: $2.15 |
| Used Price: $0.07 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Acclaimed actor Richard E. Grant's 'Wah-Wah' is a semi-autobiographical 'coming-of-age at the end of an age' story told through the eyes of young Ralph Compton. Set during the last gasp of the British Empire in Swaziland South East Africa in 1969 the plot focuses on the dysfunctional Compton family whose gradual disintegration mirrors the end of British rule.As an 11-year-old Ralph witnesses his mother's adultery with his father's best friend. His parents divorce and Ralph is sent to boarding school. His father Harry (Gabriel Byrne) not only loses his wife (Miranda Richardson) and best friend but also his position as Minister of Education with the coming of Independence prompting his rapid descent into alcoholism.Now 14 Ralph (Nicholas Hoult) returns home to discover that his father has re-married an American ex-air 'hostess' named Ruby whom his father has known all of six weeks. As round a peg as you could find in this square holed society Ruby (Emily Watson) ridicules the petty snobbery of the restless colonials whose chief amusements are gin adultery and their foppish slang of 'toodle-pip' and 'hobbly-jobbly' ' that Ruby identifies as sounding like 'Wah-Wah.'Although Ralph is initially wary of Ruby he bonds with her as his father's drinking escalates and becomes dangerously out of control. It's this chaos that stokes Ralph's inner turmoil and eventually forges his creative mind.System Requirements:Run Time: 100 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 043396166028 Manufacturer No: 16602
Description of Wah-Wah:
Gabriel Byre gives a fantastic performance as a 1960's British diplomat in Africa tormented by love, caring for his son and alcohol. Emily Watson pulls out all the stops as his second wife, a fiesty American who breaks tradition at every turn and attempts to bring her step-son out of his introverted shell. She refers to the upper-crust Brit-slang of 'toodle-pip' and 'hobbly-jobbly' as 'Wah Wah', the verbal equivalent of an eye roll. What is so great about this movie is the quality of the cast and the chemistry between them. Intense dynamics exist between the father's alcoholism and his family's attempts to accept it, then cure him of it. Nicholas Hoult, of About A Boy, is the son who struggles with loyalties between his mother, father and step-mother. A wonderful directorial debut by actor Richard E. Grant, making relatable the story of a family that is anything but average, by drawing on the emotion and empathy that's in us all. --Rachel Moss
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Product Description Acclaimed actor Richard E. Grant's Wah-Wah is a semi-autobiographical 'coming-of-age at the end of an age' story, told through the eyes of young Ralph Compton. Set during the last gasp of the British Empire in Swaziland, South East Africa, in 1969, the plot focuses on the dysfunctional Compton family whose gradual disintegration mirrors the end of British rule.
As an 11-year-old, Ralph witnesses his mother's adultery with his father's best friend. His parents divorce and Ralph is sent to boarding school. His father, Harry (Gabriel Byrne), not only loses his wife (Miranda Richardson) and best friend, but also his position as Minister of Education with the coming of Independence, prompting his rapid descent into alcoholism.
Now 14, Ralph (Nicholas Hoult) returns home to discover that his father has re-married an American ex-air 'hostess' named Ruby whom his father has known all of six weeks. As round a peg as you could find in this square holed society, Ruby (Emily Watson) ridicules the petty snobbery of the restless colonials whose chief amusements are gin, adultery, and their foppish slang of 'toodle-pip' and 'hobbly-jobbly' ' that Ruby identifies as sounding like Wah-Wah.
Although Ralph is initially wary of Ruby, he bonds with her as his father's drinking escalates and becomes dangerously out of control. It's this chaos that stokes Ralph's inner turmoil, and eventually forges his creative mind.
More Stills from Wah-Wah (click for larger image)
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Wah-Wah Reviews:
Crumbling empires and families 
2009-11-17 - Any movie with Gabriel Byrne or Emily Watson in it is well worth watching. So this one, graced with both of their presences, is a shoe-in.
Actually, the entire cast is fantastic in this tale of the artificial life a cadre of privileged British ex-pats in colonial Swaziland have created for themselves, complete with adultery and alcoholism. In this volatile mix, a fragile boy makes his way to manhood maneuvering through his crumbling family life.
Such is the craft of this movie that you have sympathy for every member of the family... the wife who runs away, the alcoholic father, the artistic and abandoned son, the new wife. I could understand the desertion, the adultery, the dependence on alcohol, the facial tics. What a dreadful cocoon to be trapped in!
At least the lives of these blighted souls are leavened with a little clean fun and levity -- one of the plot lines involves a play the community puts on for royalty. I recently read The Bolter, a true story of British colonizers in Kenya, and the action was unrelentingly depraved. It makes you truly glad for the appearance of the bright and irreverent American that Emily Watson plays in this movie. Insular little worlds need her kind of shaking up!
No shooting, no violence
2008-10-13 - Great coming of age tale with superb acting, beautiful scenery and a nice plot that's watchable without being cloying. Definitely worth the time.
"A Bloody Masterpiece"
2008-08-01 - What a bloody masterpiece! All of the parts are played to perfection. I lived that adolescent angst family dynamic and Nicholas Hoult portrays it heroically. Gabriel Byrne is a bloody genius. I especially like the clever way that newsreels of the actual emancipation event were so artistically inserted into the film--beautifully done.
Memories from my youth
2008-06-25 - I was born in Swaziland in 1968 (the year of independence depicted in the film) and lived there for 10 years. My parents obviously remember more than I do but I can vouch for the accuracy of the movie:
> The infidelity was indemic - although my mom is adamant the father was a much worse than the mother (who according to her had just the one dalliance and ended up marrying the guy). But you have to admit it was pretty dumb to fool around with you son in the back seat.
> He gave great puppet shows, he was a regular attraction at kids birthday parties, including my own. I guess the beginnings of his Directing talents...
> It is a beautiful country, although run down in the last decade or two through poor leadership after the old king died.
Richard is a talented and engaging actor who has a bit of a cult following mostly off the back of "Withnail and I" but he has done a great job as a Director, getting strong performances out of a talented cast.
An excellent film, in every respect
2008-05-23 - As stated earlier, don't let the gross sales figures (or anything, for that matter) put you off from watching this excellent film. Brilliant acting, lovely intimacy and lush scenery lend to this winner of a film. Others have already done the job of beautifully summarizing it. Do yourself a favor and watch it a few times. You'll be amazed at what you pick up as you go through it. Nicholas Hoult and Gabriel Byrne are simply brilliant.
